Only 2
by 7Digits
Summary: Petalleaf and Vinefoot were happily praising their two new kits when five badgers attack the camp and permanently damages one of the kits. Now Hopekit must struggle to prove herself as a fellow warrior among her clanmates, or will her injury hold her back? For Caffrey, the two legged survivor. Run like the wind, Caffrey; Starclan watches over you.
1. Allegiances

_**RedClan**_

Leader:

Hollystar (Black she-cat with vivid green eyes)

Deputy:

Vinefoot (Light brown tabby tom with amber eyes)

Medicine Cat:

Larkfeather (Peach tom with aqua eyes)

_Apprentice:__ Woodpaw_

Warriors:

Sunstrike (Ginger tabby she-cat with brown eyes)

_Apprentice:__ Tailpaw_

Frostlight (Pale white tom with golden eyes)

_Apprentice:__ Whitepaw_

Dawntooth (Dark gray she-cat with green eyes)

_Apprentice:__ Featherpaw_

Sharpberry (Gray/blue tom with vivid golden eyes)

_Apprentice:__ Molepaw_

Poppypool (Black she-cat with blue eyes)

Duststripe (Brown/gray tom with amber eyes)

Sweetheart (Tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes)

Brokenstone (Dark gray tabby tom with dark brown eyes)

Apprentices:

Woodpaw (Light brown tom with dark brown eyes)

Whitepaw (White she-cat with green eyes)

Tailpaw (Black tabby tom with amber eyes)

Featherpaw (Light gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes)

Molepaw (Tortoiseshell tom with golden eyes)

Queens:

Swiftpool [Orange tabby she-cat with vivid amber eyes; mother of Duststripe's kits: Flamekit (Dark brown tom with golden eyes), Clawkit (white tom with green eyes; blind), and Flowerkit (Light brown she-kit with aqua eyes)]

Petalleaf (Very light brown she-cat with dark brown eyes; expecting Vinefoot's kits)

Brightpelt (White she-cat with black front right paw and light blue eyes)

Elders:

Rusty (Dull orange tabby tom with brown eyes; from Twolegplace)

Whiskerfoot (Cream she-cat with amber eyes)

Kestrelclaw (Tortoiseshell tom with vivid green eyes)

Birdflight (Dark gray/dark blue she-cat with dark brown eyes)


	2. Prologue

**Here's a new Warriors story! I do not own Warriors! Erin Hunter does!**

* * *

Petalleaf took one last breath and screamed.

"Great job, Petalleaf, you gave birth to two healthy kits!" Larkfeather, the medicine cat, congratulated. Petalleaf's vision finally came into focus as the black and green spots faded. Her head stopped pounding, which let her get a look at her two kits. One of the kits was a chocolate color, squirming around frantically. The other kit was a dark brown tabby, free from noise and suckling milk. The chocolate kit finally stopped squirming and found its way to its mother.

"What shall we name them?" Vinefoot, the deputy, asked his mate, purring loudly.

Petalleaf looked at the tabby, then at Woodpaw, the medicine cat apprentice. "Are they both girls? Both boys?"

"Oh!" Woodpaw realized. He pointed at the chocolate kit with his tail. "This one's a girl." He nodded at the tabby. "That one's a boy."

Vinefoot smiled. "How about Mudkit for the tabby?" he asked.

"I like that." his mate purred. "And for the chocolate one, how abo-"

Petalleaf was cut off by a cry coming from the middle of camp. Vinefoot stretched his head to see that four badgers had stormed their way into camp. Flamekit was outside, crying with terror, as warriors darted out of the dens to defend their camp. Swiftpool ran up to Flamekit and snatched him up by the scruff, then making a sharp turn back toward the Nursery. He turned to Petalleaf. "Protect our kits. I'll handle this." He jumped up and sprinted out of the den into the light, his fur glowing as he jumped up on top of the badger's head.

Larkfeather darted out of the den, Woodpaw close behind him, herbs in both their mouths to treat wounded cats. Suddenly, a fifth badger found its way into the Medicine Den. His body was moving frantically in search for food. Petalleaf hissed at it. "Oh no you don't!" She carefully scooted her kits toward the edge of the den, leaving them defenseless to snuggle together for warmth. Petalleaf bounded at the badger. It unsheathed its claws and slashed her across her face, the blow so strong it knocked her into Larkfeather's medicine store, leaving her disoriented. The badger stumbled to the back of the den and snatched up the unnamed kit by the back fur. The kit started crying out for her mother as a few drops of blood hit the ground.

Petalleaf shook her head and growled, "_Get your paws off my kit!_" She jumped over his head and snatched her kit by the scruff, but the badger wasn't done yet. He managed to grab hold of the kit's front right leg and left back leg. "Let go!" she yelled through the kit's fur as she tugged lightly. The badger made an uncalled for tug that was too strong. He was sent stumbling backwards and crashed into the den wall, leaving him unconscious.

Petalleaf stared at her kit. The kit was crying so hard it hurt Petalleaf's ears. Her front right leg and left back leg were missing, bleeding violently from where they should be. Petalleaf looked at the badger to see the legs grasped tightly in his mouth.

She started hyperventilating. "_LARKFEATHER!_" she screeched at the top of her lungs. Larkfeather rushed in at the call of his name. He saw the kit, and his eyes went wide.

"Help me patch up her wounds!" he ordered Woodpaw, who had just appeared behind him. Woodpaw scrambled to grab as many cobwebs as he could and started to patch up the back leg. Petalleaf heard Mudkit, who was crying and shaking, a sign of him being cold. Petalleaf limped over to him, blood still rushing from her wound on her face. She settled down next to him, and he stopped crying almost instantly.

* * *

Moments later, Larkfeather set the kit down by her mother, the blood how barely even a trickle and her body mostly covered in cobwebs. The crowd of cats that had gathered outside the den came closer to see the kit. They had already fought off all the badgers, and killed the unconscious one and dragged it out of camp.

Vinefoot stumbled through the bundle of cats to see his mate. "Oh..." he was at a loss of words when he saw how badly his kit was injured. "T-this is all my fault! I-I-I should have been their to protect you, and t-t-the kits, and-"

"Hopekit." she interrupted him.

"What?"

"Hopekit. That's her name." Petalleaf looked sympathetically from her mate to her surviving kit. "For StarClan."

"Why?" he asked, curious.

"Because," she mewed, a stern voice. "When she survived that attack, I knew StarClan saved her."

* * *

**Like it? Review to see if I should continue!**

-7D


	3. Chapter 1: Surprises For All

**I ****_hope_**** you like it!**

* * *

Hopekit awoke to the sounds to laughter. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the sunlight. She was in a large, rock-shaped thing with grass for bedding. There were many small cats that were chasing each other.

"Oh great, the _thing's_ awake!" a small-sized cat hissed from behind her. Hopekit turned her head to see a light brown kit hissing at her, her fur arched.

"Flowerkit, have some respect for the poor kit! She's just opened her eyes!" a full-grown cat spat at the other cat.

Hopekit looked up to see a large light brown cat watching her with a pleasing smile. "Why, hello there. I'm Petalleaf, your mother." Hopekit smiled, and tried to say something. But she didn't know how to make sounds with her mouth.

"E-elyo." Hopekit mouthed finally.

"Aww! Petalleaf, she's already trying to talk!" a cat from the other side of the room, with a white-pelt, mewed. "She's precious!"

Petalleaf smiled. Hopekit watched as the other cats were walking and playing. Hopekit started to make her way to stand up. But... she couldn't. Her legs wouldn't move in the right direction. She looked at the white cat's legs, all four. She looked at her own legs, where there were only two. Her heartbeat sped up. She realized something must not be right with her. A few tears started to flow from her eyes.

"Petalleaf..." an orange cat gasped. "She... realizes-"

"I know, Swiftpool." Petalleaf looked down at her daughter with sad, clouded eyes.

Hopekit looked up at her mother, as if to ask, _What do I do?_

Petalleaf stood up slowly. She grabbed Hopekit's scruff and hauled her to her feet. Once Hopekit's paws were on the ground, she didn't feel so bad about herself. She wobbled, trying to find her balance. There wasn't enough support to keep her body up. Hopekit fell to the side, but a dark-brown kit ran over to catch her.

"That's Mudkit." Petalleaf meowed. "Your littermate."

Mudkit smiled widely at his sister, giving her a boost of spirit. She tried to regain her balance by spreading her legs apart more. Surprisingly, she was steady on her feet and could stand upright.

Petalleaf gave Hopekit a lick of satisfaction. "I knew you could do it." Hopekit mewed with happiness. Just then, a light brown tabby entered the den. His face lit up with surprise.

"Well, would you look at that." he purred. He slowly padded over to his daughter. "I'm only gone for a hunting patrol and so much has already happened."

"That's Vinefoot, your father." Petalleaf put in. Mudkit ran up to Vinefoot with yells of delight and jumped up on top of him. Vinefoot lost his balance and wobbled to the ground. "Hey, take it easy, Mudkit!"

Hopekit wanted to go to her father, too. She put one paw forward and lost control of her balance. She tumbled onto the ground with a thud and sent dust flying upward. She looked around to see cats looking at her with disappointed expressions. Hopekit burst into tears.

Petalleaf tried to calm her. "Shh... there, there... shh..."

From the other side of the den, Clawkit whispered to his brother, Flamekit, "What's wrong with it?"

Flamekit responded harshly, "It's not an it, it's a she. And since Hopekit only has two legs, she can't walk. She probably feels bad because everyone else can."

"Hopekit only has _two legs_?!" Clawkit turned to his brother, eyes widened.

"Can't you see that?" Flamekit spat.

"I'm blind, mouse-brain!" Clawkit hissed.

"You two stop fighting or else you'll _both_ go to sleep at sunset!" Swiftpool growled at her kits, overhearing their conversation.

Flamekit puffed a sigh. He turned back to where Hopekit was still crying.

"Hopekit, it's okay. I'll carry you where ever you want to go!" Petalleaf meowed at last resort.

Hopekit looked up at her mother, eyes clouded but shining. "Rih-wee?" Hopekit spit out.

"Y-yes!" Petalleaf laughed, surprised her daughter could talk better. "I promise."

"Tank woo." Hopekit mumbled, and wiped away her tears. Vinefoot let out a sigh of relief, hoping tomorrow would be better than today.

* * *

**Like?**

-7D


	4. Chapter 2: Happily Ever After? Nope!

**Just to let you know, it will not always be Hopekit's P.O.V.**

**LEZZ' GO.**

* * *

Mudkit watched as his sister struggled to stand up when she awoke. He felt very sorry for her; Flowerkit wouldn't stop teasing her. Flamekit and Flowerkit always left out Hopekit and Clawkit, who was blind. They played with him at first, but he never knew what to do and always tripped or ran into something or someone. Mudkit wondered of that was true or not, because he'd heard it from Clawkit.

Mudkit shook his head and padded up to his mother, who was laying on the ground quietly. "Pet'lleaf?" he mewed. Swiftpool had taught them how to talk properly, but Mudkit fell asleep through half of it.

Petalleaf looked up at Mudkit, dazed. "Mhh... yes, Mudkit?"

"Can me 'n Hopekit esplore the camp?" Mudkit chirped.

Petalleaf sighed. "Alright. But I want you to go straight to Vinefoot so he can carry Hopekit and keep an eye on you two."

"'Course I will!" Mudkit pranced out of the den into the middle of the camp. It was very spread out, with many tall trees and rocks for dens. Cats were roaming around, talking, eating fresh kill, or sharing tongues. He spotted his father over by the fresh-kill pile, where he was talking to a ginger tabby. He sprang towards his father, his eyes gleaming.

"Hi, Vinefoo'!" Mudkit meowed.

Vinefoot looked to his left. "Oh, there you are, Mudkit. Have you met Sunstrike?" He flicked his tail in the direction of the ginger tabby.

"No. Pet'lleaf wan's you t' carry Hopekit 'round while we esplore the camp." Mudkit sputtered.

"Okay, but first, this is Sunstrike, Petalleaf's sister." Vinefoot smiled.

"Hi there, Mudkit. Are you getting along with your sister?" Sunstrike purred in a smooth tone.

_We havn' really tall'd to each od'r yet,_ Mudkit thought privately to himself. "Um... s'ur." Mudkit lied.

"Good." Sunstrike added. Her words were slowly followed by painful-sounding coughing.

"Sunstrike, are you okay? Your cough has gotten worse." Vinefoot asked.

"Yeah," she rasped. "I'm fi-" she was cut off by her own coughing.

Larkfeather emerged from the shadows of the medicine den and padded over to the gagging she-cat. "Sunstrike, your cough has gotten much worse from yesterday. You might possibly have whitecough; maybe even greencough. You need to come with me." His voice was uneasy, but he stood like a statue. Sunstrike picked herself off the ground, still coughing non-stop, Vinefoot resting his tail on her back. He turned back to his son.

"Mudkit, tell Petalleaf to come to the medicine den." Vinefoot ordered.

"Bu', wha' abou' Hopekit?" Mudkit asked, tilting his head to the side.

"We'll do it another day." he meowed. Mudkit loped back to the Nursery to find Petalleaf grooming her daughter's ear fur.

"Pet'lleaf, Vinefoo' nee's you in the Med'cine Den." Mudkit gasped. Petalleaf sat up with a jolt and careered to the Medicine Den, Mudkit close on her tail.

Sunstrike was resting on feathery moss, still choking. She was now expelling blood as she coughed. "You have a high fever, Sunstrike." Larkfeather mentioned. Sunstrike nodded, and finally stopped coughing for a change. Larkfeather scurried over to his apprentice and mumbled something to him. Woodpaw turned at him, his eyes wide and clouded with worry. Larkfeather snuffled, and sat down in front of Sunstrike, a reasonable distance apart. "There isn't much I can do. I'm sorry, Sunstrike. You have developed blackcough."

* * *

**_GASP!_ And no, Mudkit will not always talk like that.**

-7D


	5. Chapter 3: Glowing Lights

**Thank you Amberstorm233 for those nice comments! I appreciate it! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
**

* * *

Hopekit sat in front of Whiskerfoot in the Elders' Den. She was sitting patiently waiting for her to swallow the piece of fresh-kill and continue telling the story on how Redclan was banished deep into the forest. Whiskerfoot finally, but slowly, gulped down the last mouthful.

"Okay. You know who Redstar was, correct?" Whiskerfoot rasped.

"Of course!" Hopekit squealed. "He was the first leader of the clan!"

Whiskerfoot smiled. "Yes. Well, in the beginning, there were six cats: Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow, Sky, and Sky's brother, Red. These cats came together and each formed a clan using their name. They led their clan and the cats that joined it. One day, at a Gathering, Th-"

"What's a Gathering?" Hopekit asked, interrupting.

Whiskerfoot stifled a groan. "A Gathering is what all the four clans went to. They discussed things amongst the other leaders.  
As I was saying, one day, at a Gathering, Thunder, Wind, River, and Shadow forced Sky and Red into the forest since the Twolegs were destroying their territory. When they moved, the clans decided to "merge" their clans into one. But one day, Skystar got into a fight with a she-cat. He got so mad he killed her. What he didn't know was that was Redstar's mate. Redstar was so angry at his brother that he took his original clan's clanmates and moved to a different location in the forest. He settled into this very spot. And this is where Redclan lies today."

Hopekit stared. "H-how do you know all this?"

"One of my ancestors is Redstar's daughter." she mewed lowly.

Just then, Vinefoot scuttled into the den. "Ready, Hopekit?"

"Yeah." She turned back to Whiskerfoot. "Thanks, Whiskerfoot!"

Whiskerfoot purred. "Any time, Hopekit."

Vinefoot trotted over and picked her up by the scruff. She was slowly lifted off the ground and dangled limply in her father's jaw. As they exited, Hopekit never realized how dilapidated Whiskerfoot looked through the shadows of the Elders' Den. Whiskerfoot settled her head on her paws and let her eyes fall shut.

Hopekit turned back to the camp. Cats shot her dirty looks at the sight of her having to be carried around by her father.

"What do you think of that kit?" a dark gray tabby tom muttered. "Looks like trouble to me, Hollystar."

"Now, now, Brokenstone," Hollystar, a broad black she-cat, mewed, not taking her eyes off Hopekit. "Just wait. Maybe something good will come from her."

_That's Hollystar!_ Hopekit panicked. _The Clan leader!_

Flowerkit stood next to Flamekit outside the Nursery, staring at the she-kit. "Can't it walk?" Flowerkit snarled, shooting Hopekit a nasty grin. "It still has legs. It'll make use of it while it's still alive." Flamekit looked as disgusted as Flowerkit, but in an untrue way. His eyes showed signs of passion and sympathy. He smiled weakly, light dancing on his pelt.

Hopekit looked back into the Nursery as they entered. Clawkit laid sadly against the wall as Petalleaf, Swiftpool, and Brightpelt sat in a circle meowing about Clawkit softly. Vinefoot gently set her down in the entrance. Hopekit had taught herself to use her legs to push her across the dirt. The downside was that is always dirtied her underbelly and gave her some scrapes and bruises. She pulled her front leg forward and pushed at the ground with her back leg, using her front leg to also pull her forward, and crawled over to the sad tom.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, breathless.

Clawkit looked at her, yet looking more toward the three she-cats. "No," he sighed. "My littermates never play with me."

Hopekit tilted her head. "Clawkit, I'm over here." She reached out and put her paw on his. Clawkit turned his head, his blue eyes shooting a spark at her. She was suddenly shot with a feeling that was unknown to her. It was like, all she could do was stare. Clawkit stared back, even though he was blind, as Hopekit's mouth formed slowly into a smile. She felt like mush, as if nothing else was real. She realized that she was unfamiliar with this feeling. She darted her paw back, looking at the ground. Clawkit looked to the side, showing a light smile.

She turned back to him. "I'll play with you."

Clawkit shot upright. "Really?"

Hopekit smiled and sat up. "Of course! We're friends, right?"

Clawkit blushed. "Yeah."

* * *

Hopekit awoke to the sound of, well, she wasn't sure what it sounded like. Darkness surrounded the Nursery, and the only source of light was a faint silver glow in camp. Hopekit, curiosity getting the better of her, wiggled free of Mudkit curled up against her and pulled her way into the camp.

A sparkly outlined, blue eyed, gray she-cat sat over by the fresh-kill pile, smiling at Hopekit. Her back left leg had a scar on it with parts of torn pelt patches on it. Hopekit, wide-eyed, crawled over slowly to the she-cat. The glowing cat limped closer to the frightened kit.

"W-w-who are you?" Hopekit stuttered.

The cat smiled. "I am Cinderpelt, a past Medicine Cat of Thunderclan. I am here to teach you how to walk."

* * *

**/)0o0(\ Has anyone noticed anything that Amberstorm might of said yet?**

-7D


	6. Chapter 4: Disappointment

**/)^3^(\**

* * *

Hopekit's heart sprang out of her chest. "Really?" she asked the mysterious cat, Cinderpelt.

Cinderpelt giggled. "Of course," she mewed. "I went through something similar to you." She turned her gaze to her back-leg, skin showing.

"What happened?" Hopekit added quietly.

She sighed. Cinderpelt sat down, her bad leg out to the side a bit. "Long ago, when I was an apprentice, I was out training with Fireheart and Tigerclaw. I had wandered onto the Thunderpath and got hit by a Monster. It broke my leg. Later, in Thunderclan's Medicine Den, I was told that my leg would never fully heal and I was never to be a warrior. My only other option was to become a Medicine Cat." She looked at the ground, trying to hide her tears. Her voice shook as she spoke, "I could never have a mate." She thought of the days when she had a chance to win Firestar. "I could never have kits." She thought of the disappointed look of Firestar's face in the Medicine Den that day. "And I could never love Firestar the way I did." Cinderpelt closed her eyes as a tear escaped them, remembering the good days. When she would be out alone with Fireheart (at the time), training, having fun...

Hopekit sniffed. "I don't want that to happen to me."

Cinderpelt looked at the small kit sympathetically. "You have a little crush, now?"

Hopekit smiled weakly. "Maybe." (A/N: OMG MAJOR SHIP SPOILER!)

Cinderpelt shook her head. "Okay, let's get to work."

* * *

"Hopekit, Hopekit, wake up!" Mudkit bounced on top of her. Hopekit was surprised by his correct grammar.

Hopekit's eyes flashed open, trying to see clearly while Mudkit laid on her. "What?"

"Hollystar's coming in here today to see us!" he squealed.

"_What?!_" Hopekit jumped up, knocking Mudkit off her. She thought of a way to impress her, by showing her what Cinderpelt had taught her from last night. Suddenly, she was quickly lifted off the ground by her mother. She set her down a few fox-lengths from the entrance. Petalleaf began cleaning Hopekit everywhere.

She groaned. "Petalleaf, stop! I can groom myself!"

Her mother stopped. "Yes, but you can't see if you look good enough!" she came back.

Hopekit sighed. She then noticed Hollystar padding slowly up to the Nursery, followed closely by Vinefoot. "Mudkit, quick!" Hopekit urged. "Hollystar's coming!"

Mudkit ran up to Hopekit and sat next to her, his pelt freshly groomed. Hollystar entered the Nursery with a small smile planted on her face. "Well, Petalleaf," Hollystar began. "These are some strong-looking kits you have."

"Thank you, Hollystar." Petalleaf purred. Mudkit stood up and dipped his head to the leader. Hopekit worked herself off her bottom and dipped her head, losing a little bit of her balance. Hollystar's smile faded. She stared at the small she-kit. Mudkit's orange eyes were clouded with worry for his sister.

"Mudkit," Hollystar mumbled to herself, "seems very strong, and confident. What's the other's name... Hopekit?... seems a bit... _unstable_." She looked at the tabby. "Mudkit," she started. "let me see what you know." She searched for a leaf. She picked one up through her claws and through it out to the side. "Pretend it is an enemy warrior."

Mudkit looked from Hollystar to his mother to Hopekit to the leaf. He went into an uneven crouch and pounced on the leaf, clawing and chasing at it as it flew. He finally pinned it down and sunk his teeth into it. He sat up, gleaming as it finally fell off his tooth.

Hollystar giggled. "Excellent." She looked at Petalleaf. "He will make a fine warrior." Her gaze drifted toward the last kit.

_Oh no,_ Hopekit thought. _she's going to make me do what Mudkit did!_

"Hopekit." Hollystar meowed. Hopekit gulped. "Let me see you walk."

Hopekit got into a comfortable position to walk in. She took a deep breath, and quickly put her front paw one step ahead. She lifted her back leg, but as she lifted it, it was too much weight to handle. She ended up losing her balance and tumbled to the ground, dust flying up in the air.

Hollystar snorted in disgust. "_Well,_" she spat. She turned around and went to leave the Nursery, not saying a word.

"_Wait!_" Hopekit called after her. Vinefoot's eyes widened as the she-cat stopped dead in her tracks and came back to the Nursery entrance. Hopekit pulled herself in front of her leader. "What do you mean by 'well'?"

Hollystar wasn't sympathetic. "You are much weaker than I thought you were." she hissed. "I thought something good was to come from you from my visit, but I was wrong. If you can't even _walk_, I have no choice. Hopekit, _you will never be a warrior_." Hollystar glared at her deputy, and walked away silently.

Hopekit gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as the tears flooded across her fur and the memory came back to her. _Why do I have to legs, Petalleaf?_ She had asked her mother after she learned to talk. _I don't know,_ She responded. _you were born without them_.

She started crying loud enough for everyone in the Nursery to hear. Clawkit padded up slowly from behind her and sat next to her. She stroked his tail across her flank. She collapsed on the ground in tears, her head buried half in the dirt, half in her one paw.

* * *

**OMG! Petalleaf lied to Hopekit about what happened! Hollystar was so mean to her! I am so cruel to Hopekit :'(**

-7D


	7. Chapter 5: Old Goes Out, New Comes In

**We already have a ship! ClawXHope!**

**Are there ****_more_****?**

* * *

Hopekit burst into tears after telling Cinderpelt what happened. She stared at Hopekit with anger, but not at Hopekit. She wanted to go in and beat the Starclan out of that fox-hearted leader. "Why would she say that?" Cinderpelt growled. _She shouldn't have to live like this!_

Hopekit sobbed. "I don't know!" she wailed. "It's like she has something against me!"

Cinderpelt shot upright. "Maybe she _does_!" she responded.

Hopekit wiped her eyes with the back of her paw. "Don't say that." she wined.

"No, Hopekit," Cinderpelt continued. "think about it! No leader would ever tell a kit they're not going to be a warrior just because they fall!" _They shouldn't, anyway._ "There must be more to this than we think!"

Hopekit was on board. "But we can't do anything about it right now; the Clan is asleep!"

"We'll talk about this tomorrow." Cinderpelt mewed. "Show me how you're walking."

"Okay." Hopekit stood up and balanced herself. She put her front paw forward, then lifted her back leg and fell down the same way she did with Hollystar.

"Hmm..." Cinderpelt mewed. "Try this. Don't take so long putting your back-leg forward; make it a quicker motion."

Hopekit stood back up and shifted into her "starting position". She placed her front paw in front of her, and, like Cinderpelt told her to do, lifted her back-leg and quickly shifted her weight to her front paw and set down her back leg.

Cinderpelt's whiskers twitched in excitement. "Keep going!" she encouraged.

Hopekit repeated what she had done, and soon enough, she was walking, almost like a normal cat could.

* * *

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highbranch for a Clan Meeting!" yelled Hollystar. Cats from different areas gathered to witness what was happening. Hollystar sat in the middle of a thick, wooden tree branch that hung over the camp like a shadow. "Today is a special day for three important kits. Flowerkit, Flamekit, and Clawkit, please step forward."

Flowerkit sprinted ahead of her brothers, holding her head high. Hopekit watched from the Nursery as Flamekit led Clawkit to the shadow of the Highbranch. "Flowerkit, Flamekit, and Clawkit, do you wish to train as a future warrior to serve your Clan with pride and honor?"

"I do." they mewed in union. Flowerkit was heard over the other two.

"Then until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known forth as Flowerpaw, Flamepaw, and Clawpaw. Flowerpaw, your mentor shall be Brightpelt." Hollystar's glanced moved to the she-cat sitting in the crowd. "She has just been moved out of the Nursery, but I believe she will do fine. Flamepaw, your mentor shall be Brokenstone. He has never let me down and will make sure to do a great job in training you."

Flamepaw looked over at the Nursery entrance to see Hopekit watching. He smiled, showing his teeth, and winked at Hopekit. Hopekit blushed and slowly sunk back into the walls of the Nursery. Flamekit sighed to himself as for he wouldn't see her for another couple of moons.

Hollystar looked at the blind tom. "Clawpaw, your mentor shall be Vinefoot."

Clawpaw froze. _The_ deputy _is my mentor?_ He thought to himself. _Oh, this is bad. Or is this good? Maybe I can get closer to Hopekit._

"I trust he will not make any _mistakes_." she spat.

The three paws touched noses with their new mentors. "Before we go, Sweetheart has an announcement to make." She jestered a light nod to the she-cat.

Sweetheart stood up with Sharpberry at her side. "I'm expecting Sharpberry's kits!"

The Clan rejoiced.

Suddenly, hisses and violent coughs filled the coming silence. The Clan scattered to the Medicine Den entrance to see what was the matter.

"Woodpaw, Sunstrike _needs_ more herbs!" Larkfeather spat, shaking.

"That's all!" he shrieked. "There's no more!"

"_What_?!" Larkfeather jumped. "I just refilled them this sunrise!"

Petalleaf pushed herself to the front of the crowd. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's choking!" Larkfeather panicked. "The blood she was expelling from her coughing has blocked up her throat. There are no more herbs to help the blood go down!"

Petalleaf jumped over to Sunstrike. "Pit..leeef." she choked.

Petalleaf put both her paws on her sister's chest and tried to force air up do she could cough up the clot. After three presses she looked down at her sister, who's eyes were rolling back into her head. Petalleaf collapsed onto the floor, her eyes clouding.

Larkfeather stepped forward. "She's dead."

* * *

**Oh no! Not Sunstrike! D:! And yay for Sweetheart! This is a big part of the story, the announcement. You'll find that out way later. What is up with Hollystar? Is there something more? Find out in this story! Also, check out the new poll on my profile page. Bye!**

-7D


	8. Chapter 6: Secrets are Revealed

**Next chapter!**

**Check out the poll on my profile page!**

* * *

Hopekit snuggled next to her mother. Vinefoot sat to her right, Mudkit on his right. They sat in silence as they grieved over Petalleaf's dead sister.

"Please..." Petalleaf suddenly whispered as tears ran down and off her muzzle. "Come back to me... I need you..."

Hollystar sat over by the fresh-kill watching Sunstrike's kin. _Nobody suspects a thing._

Her mouth twitched into a smirk and she flicked her tail. Hollystar sat up and trotted into the Leader's Den. She sat down on her feathery bed. It was conducted with dry moss, leaves, and bird feathers. She looked down at a drawing in the dirt. It was a shape that looked like a face of a cat. _Now that Sunstrike is gone, my plan can work faster._

She growled. "You've made a bad choice." Hollystar mumbled under her breath. She was still staring at the drawing. "Be prepared; there's a storm brewing."

She stepped on the drawing.

* * *

Hopekit looked over at her father in the middle of camp, teaching Clawpaw how he could use his senses to help him get things done. She smiled as she watched him; he looked at her a few times, but she didn't care; he couldn't see her watching him anyway. She slowly pulled herself off the ground to practice her walking.

Mudkit couldn't help noticing. "What are you doing now?" he asked.

"I'm, uh, going to practice walking. I need to show Hollystar that I'm worth becoming a warrior." she remarked.

"Can I watch?"

Hopekit was stunned. "Uh, yeah, sure!" She started to show him how she put her front-leg forward, put her back-leg forward (transferring her weight), and then repeated the same steps. She walked all the way to the middle of the Nursery (she was against the entrance before).

"Wow," he mewed. "how did you learn to do that?"

"Do what?"

"_Walk_?" he emphasized.

Hopekit knew she couldn't tell him that a Starclan cat was visiting her. He might tell the whole Clan! "Uh, practiced."

The two kits then overheard the apprentices in their den laughing and talking. Mudkit turned to his sister. "You want to listen?"

She nodded with a smirk on her face. Mudkit went to leave the Nursery before looking behind him. "Follow me." Hopekit followed her brother to the side of the Apprentices' Den, avoiding any cats' sights.

They looked into the den. "So all five of you are kin?" Flowerpaw asked a white she-cat.

"Yeah." she responded. "I'm Whitepaw." She tilted her tail to a black tabby tom. "That's Tailpaw." He stepped forward.

"The light gray one's Featherpaw." he meowed.

Featherpaw padded over to the last one, a tortoiseshell. "This is Molepaw."

"Our other brother is Larkfeather's apprentice, Woodpaw. He's always wanted to be a Medicine Cat's apprentice, but he was sad he couldn't hang out with us that much during the day. He says the best part of being a Medicine Cat apprentice is talking to Starclan, but he told us not to tell anyone."

They all laughed. Mudkit snickered. Hopekit slapped him on his head with her tail.

"Don't worry," Flamepaw mewed after calming down. "We won't tell anyone."

"Probably." Flowerpaw added.

"So," Featherpaw started. "What about that blind brother of yours, Clawpaw?"

"He-" Flamepaw meowed, but his sister cut him off.

"Him?" she spat. "He should have been make Medicine Cat apprentice. Since that spot was already taken, Hollystar had no choice but to make him a regular apprentice. He'll probably get held back on training and stay another moon or two as an apprentice."

Hopekit was furious. She stood up, but was held back by Mudkit's tail.

"Hey, Flowerpaw," Tailpaw giggled. "since you seem cool, do you have a little crush yet?"

The others pushed her to tell them. "Oh, alright!" she finally hissed. "It's Brokenstone!"

"_Brokenstone_?" Flamepaw asked. "My mentor?"

"No, Brokenstone the tick-picker." They all laughed so hard Molepaw fell over. Hopekit had to bury her face in the dirt to stop her from laughing out.

After they settled, Whitepaw meowed, "How about you, Flamepaw?"

"I'm not going to say," he mumbled.

"Why not?" Tailpaw asked.

"Because you guys will laugh!" he spat.

"Come on, Flamepaw," his sister shoved him in the shoulder. "don't be such a mouse."

"Fine! I like Hopekit, alright?!" Everyone was silent.

"_Hopekit_?" Flowerpaw finally broke with a hiss. "That thing shouldn't even exist!"

Hopekit quickly got up and ran (more like a jog) back to the Nursery. Mudkit got up and followed her, about a fox-length behind. Her heart sped up. She couldn't believe it. Flamepaw liked her.

* * *

**Oh shnap! Flamepaw likes her! Will this get in the way of ClawXHope? Find out!**

**Also, in maybe like two chapters, the five apprentices (that are all kin) will be becoming warriors. I need warrior names. You guys can help me, right? Just comment the apprentice name (Woodpaw, Whitepaw, Tailpaw, Featherpaw, or Molepaw) and then next to it, their warrior name. Woodpaw's will obviously be his full Medicine Cat name. I'm counting on you guys. Chow!**

-7D

**EDIT: 8 reviews _overnight_? Wow. Spirit of the Book, I like Whitestep. I think it fits her nice (we'll see :D). Also, I like Tailheart and Feathercloud, Amberstorm233. I really like the rest of the names, too. I love it :DDDDDDDDDDD!**


	9. Chapter 7: Delays

**Still looking for more warrior names! They're becoming warriors in the next chapter!**

**Also, Happy New Year! It's 2015!**

**Also, note, Clawpaw doesn't know his brother likes Hopekit. He was training with Vinefoot, remember?**

* * *

Clawpaw rested his chin on his paws. He thought about how much he didn't want to train with his littermates. They would probably make fun of him. Suddenly, he heard a sound coming into the Apprentices' Den.

"Hey, Woodpaw!" Tailpaw greeted his brother. He had met the other apprentices just that day.

"Nope!" was all he meowed back.

"What?" Featherpaw asked.

"I'm not Woodpaw anymore!" he bounced.

"What?" Whitepaw gasped.

"I'm Woodpelt now!"

"Congrats, Woodpelt." Molepaw congratulated.

"I don't think that's fair!" Whitepaw whined. "We were all supposed to get our warrior names on the same day!"

"The Medicine Naming works differently, remember?" Woodpelt remarked.

"Oh, right..." Whitepaw corrected herself.

"So now your a full medicine cat, huh?" Flamepaw asked.

Flowerpaw mewed, "When are you guys supposed to be made warriors?"

"I don't know," Featherpaw replied. "Dawntooth said she thinks tomorrow (A/N: the next chapter)."

Clawpaw sighed. He didn't really get along with the other apprentices. Soon it would just be him and his littermates again, just like in the Nursery, before Hopekit and Mudkit were born.

_Hopekit..._ he thought. _She's the only one that understands me... if only I could tell her how I feel about her... but... the Warrior Code says otherwise..._

Just then, he heard a voice from outside the Apprentices' Den. "Clawpaw!"

He sat up. "Hopekit?" he asked.

"Why don't you come outside?" she asked, smiling.

Clawpaw grinned. He stuck out his tail to warn him if any objects were in his way and padded outside the den. "Hey, Hopekit!"

"Hi, Clawpaw!" Hopekit greeted back. "Want to play?"

"Um..." he stuttered. "The other apprentices w-won't think it's warrior-like..."

"Who cares what they think?" She looked over at Flowerpaw, who was scowling at her.

"Y-you're right!" Clawpaw agreed. "I don't even get along with them anyway!"

Hopekit looked up to him sadly. "You don't?" she mewed weakly.

Clawpaw frowned. "No..."

She scooted over next to him. She leaned over next to him, her head touching his shoulder, putting her paw on his. "It's okay."

Clawpaw's eyes widened. _WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo!_ He panicked inside his head.

Hopekit leaned away from him. "Now, come on, let's play together!"

Clawpaw lightened up. "Okay!"

* * *

Hollystar watched from the shadows of her den as Hopekit started to play with one of the apprentices.

_She's making relationships with other cats_. she thought.

Hollystar growled to herself. "Why, my deputy... _why_..."

* * *

Larkfeather stepped away from Sweetheart. He sighed. _What am I going to do...?_ He asked himself.

"Let me feel your belly again, just to make sure." Larkfeather said to Sweetheart, who was laying in the Medicine Den, Sharpberry at her side.

"Just to make sure of _what_?" she panicked.

He didn't answer her. He felt around her belly with his paw. Being careful, he could feel them. But barely. Larkfeather sighed and put his head in his paws.

"_What_?!" Sweetheart almost screamed with worry.

Larkfeather sat up slowly. Woodpelt bounded into the Medicine Den just as he did. "I'm going to be honest with you." Larkfeather meowed. "Your kits are delayed."

"_They're going to be mental_?!" Sweetheart screeched.

"_No_!" Larkfeather quickly booted in. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used that word... I mean they are developing slowly. I _can_ feel them, but only by smaller than a pebble."

"W-what are you saying?" Sharpberry stammered.

Larkfeather sighed again. "They won't be born on time. They might even be born a moon later than they should. The bad news about this is... well... the might not survive."

Sweetheart was heart-broken. "I see..." She sat up and turned to her mate. She suddenly put her face in his chest and broke into tears. Sharpberry rested his tail on her back.

Larkfeather turned to Woodpelt, who looked at him sympathetically. "The hardest things about being a Medicine Cat are having a cat die before you," He turned to Sweetheart. "and watching a cat's heart break."

* * *

**Poor Sweetheart! Yay (and aww) for Clawpaw (yay for playing with Hopekit, aww for no apprentice friends.)! Sorry if there are any "there/their/they're" mistakes, I was rushing to get this done by New Years Eve. Thanks to 'Spirit of the Book' for the Medicine Cat name "Woodpelt". I surprised you there by doing it early. I still need warrior names for the others.**

**Now, I have a little question for ppl to answer. If you were alone with Hollystar in a room for 10 seconds, and you do anything you possibly wanted to, what would you do? I look forward to answers! A little New Years present... sorta...**

**Again, happy New Year!**

-7D


	10. Chapter 8: Hollystar

**Thanks to Spirit of the Book, MidnightWriterKitty, and Amberstorm233 for the Warrior/Medicine Cat name(s)! Here we go!**

* * *

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highbranch for a Clan Meeting!" Hollystar yowled from the Highbranch.

Slowly, cats began to dissolve into the area below. "I am here today to make four apprentices' dreams come true. Whitepaw, Featherpaw, Tailpaw, and Molepaw, please step forward."

The four apprentices squeezed their way to the front of the crowd. Woodpelt sat in the front, watching with a smile on his face.

"Do you four promise to uphold the warrior code for as long as you live and protect it, even at the cost of your life?" Hollystar asked.

The four looked at each other, then at Woodpelt. He gave a light nod. They looked back up at Hollystar. "We do." they mewed in union.

Hollystar smiled. "Then by the power of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. From this moment forward, you shall be known forth as Whitepool, Feathercloud, Tailfeather, and Moleclaw. Starclan honors your courage and bravery, and welcomes you as a full member of Redclan."

The Clan rejoiced the four newly-made warriors. "Whitepool, Feathercloud, Tailfeather, Moleclaw!"

"Clan Meeting dismissed." Hollystar meowed once the cheers died down, and hopped off the Highbranch.

Vinefoot watched as Hollystar padded over to him. "Vinefoot, can I see you in my den for a moment?" she asked plainly.

"Of course, Hollystar." Vinefoot replied, bowing his head. He followed her into her den.

* * *

**Hopekit's POV**

Hopekit watched as her father went into Hollystar's den. Casually, she trudged out and followed him. She strayed to the side of the entrance where no one could see her. She listen closely as they talked.

* * *

**Vinefoot's POV**

"What did you want to discuss with me, Hollystar?" Vinefoot asked from the entrance of the den.

Hollystar sat down in her bed, facing the wall of the den. "Just sit next to me."

Vinefoot gulped. He slowly walked over next to Hollystar and sat down next to her. His eyes darted next to hers, for she was just staring at the dirt. His eyes quickly darted back. He noticed she was drawing in the dirt with her claw. It looked like two cats with two kits in-between them, one bigger than the other.

Hollystar broke the silence. "Do you remember long ago?" she asked weakly, like she was crying. Vinefoot knew her; she never cried.

"Back then?" he asked.

"Yeah..."

"Yes," Vinefoot mewed. "I remember..."

* * *

**Hopekit's POV**

Hopekit tilted her head. _What happened back then?_ she asked herself. She continued to listen.

* * *

**Vinefoot's POV**

Hollystar chuckled a little. "D-do you remember when Brokenstone was only a kit?"

Vinefoot's face lit up. "Yeah, he was so full of energy."

"And how he played with Leafpaw so much?" Hollystar laughed.

Vinefoot looked up. Hollystar did the same. They shared a happy glance for only a moment. It had been so long since they hand done that. She looked down. "Leafpaw..." Vinefoot watched as a tear escaped from Hollystar's eyes. His eyes widened. Hollystar _never_ cried. "They were only out for a hunting patrol... Brokenstone convinced her to follow that rabbit across the Thunderpath, and..."

Suddenly, the memory of Leafpaw's death came back into his head. A monster's glowing eyes, the screams, the tears, the blood... He had tried so hard to forget that awful day. The day Brokenstone lost his fun.

"Brokenstone was lost without her..." Vinefoot broke the silence. "He lost his sense of fun..."

"It was beautiful while it lasted." Hollystar mewed. She looked up at Vinefoot. "I miss that, Vinefoot. Those days..."

Vinefoot kept staring at the ground. "I have new kits to take care of." Vinefoot said flatly.

"What about your _other_ kit?" she had now raised her voice a little. "Why couldn't you put the fun back in his life? Why couldn't you be a caring father to him?"

Vinefoot stood up. "It was hard for all of us when Leafpaw died, when we got into that fight."

Hollystar flinched at the word 'fight'. Vinefoot knew she was recalling that awful day when they got into the fight, which caused them to go their separate ways.

"I regret not talking to him..." Vinefoot mewed softly. He settled back down. "But we don't really get along with each other anymore. I haven't spoken to him in moons; he probably doesn't even want to talk to me."

"I miss those days when we were mates!" Hollystar suddenly blurted out.

* * *

**Hopekit's POV**

Hopekit's eyes widened. _He used to be mates with Hollystar? Why wasn't he told me this?_

* * *

**Vinefoot's POV**

Vinefoot was silent. "It was the time of my life when we were mates." Hollystar continued in a low manner. "I miss them so much, and it hurts me to see you with another she-cat."

"I see your pain," Vinefoot meowed, looking at her. "B-"

Hollystar cut him off. "So then why don't you heal my pain?"

Vinefoot tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Hollystar looked at him, her cheek fur wet from tears. Her eyes were clouded with hope and sadness. "Be my mate again."

Vinefoot stood back up, taking a few steps back. "W-what?"

"I regret that fight." she mewed, her voice cracking. She stood up and took a step toward him. "I'm not over you, Vinefoot. I miss those nights when we would sleep together. I miss those days when we took care of our two kits together. And I have a feeling Brokenstone misses you just as much."

Vinefoot was stunned. Hollystar had never spoken to him like this... with such... _begging_.

"Think about your son. _Our_ son. Brokenstone. Do it for him. Do it for _me_."

Vinefoot's heart-beat sped up. "I-I..."

"You what?" Hollystar asked with hope.

Vinefoot sighed. He sat down, looking at his paws. "I have a mate, Petalleaf. I have two sons and one daughter: Brokenstone, Mudkit, and Hopekit. I accept the fact that Brokenstone is my son. I love Brokenstone just as much as you do, but I'm sorry, Hollystar, but I cannot be your mate." He stood up and headed for the entrance. He stopped just before he exited. "I hope we can still be friends."

Hollystar looked broken. Suddenly, Vinefoot gave a wink to her. He smirked, then headed for the Warriors Den.

* * *

**Hollystar's POV**

Hollysta's face lit up. She had a feeling she knew what that meant. She just couldn't have anyone else in the way between her and Vinefoot.

Starting with Petalleaf.

* * *

**Hopekit's POV**

Hopekit turned away after her father said, "I hope we can still be friends."

She had so many questions she wanted answered. _When was Vinefoot mates with Hollystar? Is Brokenstone, the noblest warrior in Redclan, _really_ my half-brother? Does he still love Petalleaf? Does Petalleaf know about this?_

Suddenly, a tail gripped her mouth and Hopekit was pulled into the bushes behind her.

* * *

**Well...**

**What's the whole story with Hollystar and Vinefoot? Who was Leafpaw? What happened with Hopekit? **

**Again, thank you for all the responses for the warrior names. Sorry if I didn't pick yours for a certain character. See you in the next chapter!**

-7D


	11. Chapter 9: Dreams

**OMG GUYS I'M SOOO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPLOAD! I GOT STUCK DOING SOMETHING IN MINECRAFT AND THEN I WAS SICK, AND NOW THAT SCHOOL AS STARTED AGAIN, I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO UPLOAD AS OFTEN AS I HAVE BEEN.0 I hope you guys forgive me!  
**

* * *

Hopekit struggled out of the cat's grip. She wasn't able to make out who it was, for it had her scruff, so she couldn't turn around. Suddenly, the cat let go of her. She tried to make a run for it, but the cat grabbed her again. Whoever's tail was around her mouth, it was an awfully big one. She was lifted into the air and was carried away from camp. Hopekit tried to scream, but it only came out as a muffled noise.

The cat carrying her growled. Hopekit's eyes widened. This wasn't a cat that had her. It was a dog. Hopekit was able to see a little sight of the camp fade away as the dog carried her. She was afraid of what was going to happen to her.

Suddenly, the dog brought her to a silver-looking den. He walked closer and tried to shove her in. The grip on her scruff was loosened and she was able to tear away from its grip. She ran as fast as she could away from it, back to camp. She saw the camp within a few moment and burst through the bush barrier and ended up where she listened to Vinefoot and Hollystar before.

Hopekit tried to walk as casually as she could back to the Nursery, putting that incident all behind her.

* * *

Hopekit listened for Cinderpelt's arrival. Her heart was speeding up very fast. Suddenly, she heard the wind pick up and random shimmers. A glowing light shot through the camp. She was here.

Hopekit raced out of the Nursery. Cinderpelt was calmly waiting for Hopekit to come. "Cinderpelt, Cinderpelt!" she cried, racing towards her.

"Shh, Hopekit, pipe down!" Cinderpelt giggled. Hopekit shot herself at Cinderpelt, burying her face in Cinderpelt's chest and bursting into tears. "Hopekit? What's the matter?"

Hopekit looked up at the starry she-cat, her eyes clouded from her tears. "I'm scared." Cinderpelt had questioned look on her face. "I-I was talking to V-V-Vinefoot," she stammered. "a-and he said t-t-tomorrow is our ap-pprence ceremony!"

Cinderpelt's face lit up. "That's fantastic!" she meowed. "But why are you so afraid?"

Hopekit backed away, sitting back down. "W-What if she refuses t-t-to make me an apprentice? What if I'm a kit forever?!"

Cinderpelt looked at Hopekit with reassuring eyes. "Hopekit, no cat stays a kit forever. They always grow up."

"But w-w-what if she never changes my name?" Hopekit asked, not crying as much.

"Don't worry about it," Cinderpelt soothed. "Just show her what you can do."

Hopekit smiled.

* * *

**Flamepaw's POV**

"Flamepaw, Flamepaw!" Mudkit called out to the orange apprentice, who was just walking into the camp.

"Hi, Mudkit!" Flamepaw greeted. "What do you need?"

"Can you teach me some battle moves? Vinefoot says Hopekit and I are becoming apprentices tomorrow!" Mudkit bounced.

"You are?" he asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. _Yes!_ he cheered to himself. _Now I try to get close to Hopekit!_

"Um, okay!" Flamepaw agreed. "Follow me." Flamepaw padded over in front of the Apprentices' Den, Mudkit following him. He stopped right at the entrance, then turned to face Mudkit. "Okay, a basic move that I have learned is the Killing Bite. You sink your teeth into your opponent's neck."

Suddenly, Mudkit scowled at Flamepaw. He jumped on top of him and sunk his teeth into his neck, coming out of the underside of his neck. He plopped onto the ground, blood leaving him like a flood. Hopekit padded slowly up to him. She looked at him with a menacing glance, then sunk both her claws into his eyes.

Flamepaw jolted upright, blinking his eyes. He looked around. It was dark everywhere and he was still in the Apprentices' Den.

"Just a bad dream?" his brother asked him from his side.

"Yeah." Flamepaw breathed.

"Just forget about it. Think happy thoughts." Clawpaw advised, then settled his head back to sleep.

Flamepaw put his head on his paws. He thought about his crush, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**I'm going to try as hard as I can to upload as soon as I can!**

-7D


	12. Chapter 10: The Ceremony

**It's that moment you've all been waiting for!  
**

**OH, THE DRUMS, THEY SWING LOW... AND THE TRUMPETS, THEY GO...!**

***BUR, BUR, BUR-BA-BUR-BUR, BUR, BUR, BUR-BA-BUR-BUR!***

**Okay, enough's enough.**

* * *

Hollystar looked up at the Highbranch. _Well, it's all up to fate now._ she thought to herself with a sigh. She bounded up to the Highbranch and called out the words she'd been saying for a while. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highbranch for a Clan Meeting!"

Hollystar's face grew into a smirk as she noticed Hopekit wasn't in the crowd. She politely started the ceremony. "Today, Vinefoot's kits become apprentices." she mewed as if she didn't know Hopekit wasn't there. Murmurs of wonder filled the crowd of cats. "Mudkit and Hopekit, please step forward." Mudkit pounced to the front of the crowd, a pleased look on his face.

Hollystar tried to look confused. "Uh... Mudkit... do you wish to train as apprentice to become a future warrior of Redclan?"

"Yes, yes!" he cheered.

Hollystar, still pretending to be confused, continued. "Well, then, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Mudpaw. Your mentor will be Duststripe. He hasn't had an apprentice yet, but I believe he will do fine."

Duststipe padded forward and touched noses with Mudpaw.

"Well then," Hollystat mewed happily, "Clan Meeting dism-"

"Wait!" Hopekit called out from the back of the crowd. The crowd of cats opened up a space, wide enough for her to walk through.

"Hopekit." Hollystar meowed, wide-eyed.

"You _have_ to make me an apprentice!" Hopekit demanded.

Hollystar chuckled. "Why should I?"

"Well," Hopekit remarked. "As you just saw, I can walk. And run." She turned and started to run (a little faster than a jog) around the crowd of cats. Murmurs of excitement rolled over the cats. "And..." She faced a small, rocky ledge on the side of the border. She crouched down, pushed off with her back leg and landed on the rock. "I can jump." Cinderpelt had taught her that last night.

The Clan rejoiced at the small kit. Hollystar frowned. "I suppose I have no choice, do I?" She sighed. "You are now known as Hopepaw." She looked over the Clan. "Your mentor will be Swiftpool."

A few gasps were heard. Hollystar's eyes landed on the orange tabby. "Since she isn't expecting and doesn't have kits to care for anymore, she is perfectly capable of training an apprentice."

Swiftpool nodded and padded up next to where Duststripe and Mudpaw were. Hopepaw hopped down and padded up to Swiftpool, touching her nose.

"Clan Meeting dismissed." Hollystar meowed with a growl and rushed back to her den.

Hopepaw looked at Clawpaw, who had walked up to her. "This is exciting!" she bounced.

"Maybe we can train together!" Clawpaw added, adding a head notion to his mother, then at Vinefoot.

Swiftpool looked at Vinefoot. "Whenever is suitable."

* * *

**Later That Night**

Clawpaw lead Hopepaw into the Apprentices' Den. "There's a free spot next to me." Flamepaw added quickly. Hopepaw saw the spot. It was in front of Flamepaw and next to Clawpaw. She settled down into the bed and looked out in the starry sky. Thank you, Cinderpelt. I hope I can still see you.

As they all fell asleep, Clawpaw's and Hopepaw's tails slowly met their way in the center and wrapped them together, not noticing Flamepaw put him on top.

* * *

**/)^3^(\**

-7D

**P.S. Sorry this chapter is short. Can't really put much more action into it.**


	13. Chapter 11: Battle Training

**I'm gonna try to update every two days, but it might not work out.**

**Sorry I didn't upload yesterday! I was grounded :(**

* * *

Hopepaw was awoken by a slight shove to her shoulder. She blinked her eyes, sadness filling her that it was daytime. She had hoped Cinderpelt would visit her that night.

Hopepaw looked up to see Flamepaw standing over her. She noticed that Clawpaw was gone. "Brokenstone wants to go out training. Wanna come?"

Hopepaw smiled weakly. "Sure." she mewed, sitting up and stretching her legs. She followed Flamepaw over to the center of camp, where her father stood with Swiftpool.

"Are you sure you're okay going out?" he mumbled. "I just want to make sure you're comfortable. Hopepaw might need some extra help."

Hopepaw felt slightly offended. "She'll be fine." Swiftpool reassured. "You shouldn't worry so much. She's very strong." Swiftpool turned to see Brokenstone padding up to the small group.

"Are we set to go?" he asked, not setting his eyes on Vinefoot.

Swiftpool looked to Vinefoot. Vinefoot gave a nod, setting his eyes on his son. Brokenstone didn't make any eye contact.

"Okay, we're good." Swiftpool meowed.

"Lead the way, Swiftpool." Brokenstone added. Hopepaw followed her mentor as Flamepaw walked next to her. Brokenstone followed his apprentice. He stopped at Vinefoot. "Father." was all he mewed. As Vinefoot was about to add something, Brokenstone stormed off with a flick of his tail.

* * *

Hopepaw watched as Swiftpool brought them into a clearing in the forest. It was covered with low-growing grass and smooth surfaces. "It looks like something made this clearing." Hopepaw remarked.

"Legend has it that Starclan granted Redstar's wish to have a clearing perfect for training." Swiftpool added.

Brokenstone smiled. "Now, let's start battle training."

"This is my favorite!" Flamepaw whispered to Hopepaw.

"Today, we're going to learn some basic attacking moves." Swiftpool started. "Let's learn the Back-Kick."

"To perform the Back-Kick, you stand a distance away from your opponent," Brokenstone mewed. He padded over to Swiftpool, a reasonable distance apart. "and lash out with your back legs, yet putting all your weight on your front paws."

_I don't know..._ Hopepaw thought. _I've never done something so complex like this before..._

"Swiftpool and I will demonstrate." Brokenstone meowed, interrupting her thoughts. "Remember, this is a move to catch your opponent from behind." He turned around, jumping onto his forepaws and lashing his back-legs lightly into Swiftpool. Swiftpool stumbled a step to the side.

"Since this is training, you must always remember to keep your claws sheathed and be gentle." Swiftpool meowed, eying her son. Flamepaw nodded lightly.

"Okay. Hopepaw, why don't you try it on Swiftpool?" Brokenstone mewed in a nice manner. Hopepaw gave a weak smile, padding forward to Swiftpool. Judging her size and how far away she should be from Swiftpool, she turned around so her tail was facing her mentor. Giving a breath, she quickly jumped forward onto her one front paw. Her leg wobbled, throwing her off balance. Her head thumped, nervousness rushing through her. Afraid she was going to fall, she stuck out her claws and quickly threw in a lash of her back leg. Her foot hit something hard, causing her to somersault forward, bending her ear-tip a little. She quickly wobbled up to a standing position. She watched as Swiftpool stumbled backward into the stem of a tree, bumping her head. Hopepaw's eyes widened as a trickle of blood appeared on Swiftpool's side.

Hopepaw's heart sped up even more, a sickening feeling rushing through her. She just injured her mentor.

"Swiftpool!" Brokenstone gasped, rushing to her aid. Swiftpool gave a small moan, wetting her paw and rubbing it across her head.

"Hopepaw... what did I saw about claws sheathed?" Swiftpool mewed weakly.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Swiftpool!" she cried. "I-I was just nervous, a-and it's just too much weight for only one leg to handle, and I wasn't balanced, and-"

"Hopepaw!" she meowed loudly. Hopepaw looked up, her eyes clouded. Her orange fur now had a spot of blood from just behind her right shoulder. She stood up, Brokenstone helping her. "It's okay, I'll be fine." she purred. "Even though this is only training, you would have done a good job of injuring an enemy."

Hopepaw smiled and stood up straight. "Really?"

Swiftpool nodded. "But there will be a small punishment for you injuring Swiftpool." Brokenstone mewed in a firm voice.

"Aww." Hopepaw whined.

"Brokenstone, that's not necessary-"

"No, Swiftpool," Brokenstone interrupted, turning to face her. He looked into her eyes. "If this apprentice is going to be a warrior, she needs to take responsibility for her actions."

The orange tabby sighed. "I guess so."

Brokenstone looked at the sad apprentice. "For the next couple of days, instead of battle training or hunting, you will care for the elders."

"What?!" Flamepaw lashed out in anger. Hopepaw was about to do the same, before Flamepaw interrupted. Hopepaw looked at him. _He cares that much?_

"That includes searching for ticks, bringing them food or water, and cleaning and replacing their bedding." Brokenstone added.

Hopepaw sighed. "Oh well. Sorry, Swiftpool."

"You apologize too much." Swiftpool giggled. "Come on, let's finish training."

"Swiftpool, what about your wound?" the black tom asked.

"It'll be fine." she replied. "I'll have Woodpelt look at it later. Larkfeather's been doing all the work lately."

Hopepaw felt relieved as they continued on with training. "Now, we will practice the Belly Rake..." Swiftpool started saying, but Hopepaw didn't listen as she looked to her left and saw Cinderpelt sitting there, her eyes gleaming with happiness.

* * *

**Aww! That was sweet! From scary to nice at the very end, a nice way to finish a chapter. Again, sorry I couldn't update yesterday. I really wanted to sooooo bad xD! Bye bye!  
**

-7D


	14. Chapter 12: A Trapped Mouse

**Read this.**

* * *

Buddy waited outside, in the cold, darkness of the night, for almost ten minutes. Finally, he saw a shadowy cat emerge from the bushes. "Where has been?" he growled through gritted teeth.

"I understand you didn't do your job like you were supposed to." the cat remarked.

"She was fighter." Buddy started. "She-"

"Shut it, dog." the cat growled. She stalked around the dog, flicking its tail almost every step. "I have a new target for you."

"What look like?" Buddy asked.

The black cat thought for a moment. "Very light brown, dark brown eyes."

"Female?" he asked.

"Yes." The cat took a seat in front of him, whiskers twitching.

"Where is payment?" Buddy demanded.

"You get paid _after_ your homicide mission is complete." she growled, her fur rising.

"No pay, no home side." Buddy stated, turning his head away. The black cat grumbled. She turned to the bushes and pulled out a large bird, almost burnt from burning in a fire. The dog licked his lips, spurting spit everywhere, and dove into the bird.

"You must complete this task immediately." the black cat meowed over Buddy's eating. "Otherwise, I _will_ replace you." she added harshly. Buddy finished the last of the bird. "And, Buddy, it's _homicide_, not home side." Buddy looked up and licked bird pieces off his mouth.

"As you wish, Hollystar."

* * *

Hopepaw grumbled quietly as she searched through Rusty's pelt for ticks. "I heard that!" he rasped.

"I don't know why Brokenstone was so hard on me!" she blurted out. _Probably because he hates me._

"It's not that!" Birdflight reassured, probably lying. "He was... um..."

Whiskerfoot snickered from the corner of the den. She gave a cough. "I've still got some humor left in this Lake of Dust." Hopepaw smiled, not really meaning it. Whiskerfoot liked to call herself "Lake of Dust". It made the apprentice feel bad.

Whiskerfoot was the oldest warrior in the Clan. Just around the time she was about a moon, she had heard Larkfeather saying she had only a week to live. Now she was an apprentice. Larkfeather was way off.

Kestrelclaw sighed. "Joint pain again. Time to go see Larkfeather." Kestrelclaw sat up, stretching his front legs. He slowly padded out of the den, dragging his tail on the dusty ground.

"Don't let this place get you down, young one." Rusty smiled. "sure, we're old, but we've still got fun."

Hopepaw didn't smile. "I was just looking forward to training." she whined. "I just want to prove I'm a true warrior."

"Don't worry." Rusty mewed. "Hollystar'll eventually come through. It's probably just because-" Birdflight cut him off with a flick of her tail. The elders were quiet. Hopepaw realized what that meant. They knew. They knew about Vinefoot and Hollystar.

"Can you excuse me?" Hopepaw asked.

"Of course." Whiskerfoot rasped.

Hopepaw stood up and walked out of the Elders' Den. She padded into the Apprentices' Den, staring at the ground. She laid down in her bed, resting her head on her paw. Hopepaw looked up as she heard a cat start to walk in.

"Oh, wait, call Hollystar, I found a rogue in here!" Flowerpaw joked to herself. "I need to kill it before it kills me!" Flowerpaw laughed. The she-cat bounded up to the chocolate apprentice. She stuck her claw into Hopepaw's only front paw, right in the center.

Hopepaw winced. She clenched her eyes shut as she felt real pain shoot up her arm. "You're nothing but a mouse trapped in my grip," Flowerpaw spat in her ear in a threatening voice. "about to die. About to get eaten. It's better than a piece of crow-food being alive." Flowerpaw pulled out her claw and laughed psychotically. She slowly padded out of the Apprentices' Den, holding her tail high, proudly.

Hopepaw felt a tear run down her cheek. She slowly got to her paws, wincing as she put weight on her front paw. _Cinderpelt, help me... I'm tired of being treated like a piece of fresh-kill..._ she pleaded in her head.

_I am always here, watching you._ Hopepaw heard in her head.

Hopepaw's eyes widened. _Cinderpelt?!_ she asked. She heard no response. She sighed and limped to the Medicine Den. When she finally arrived, Woodpelt was the first to notice her.

"Hopepaw, what happened?!" Woodpelt gasped.

"I... uh... I got stuck by a thorn..." Hopepaw lied.

"Come sit." Woodpelt meowed with a motion of his tail. As Hopepaw took a seat, Woodpelt lifted her paw in his. "A _thorn_ did this?" he asked with confusion.

But Hopepaw ignored him. She started wobbling a little. Woodpelt dropped her paw. She winced as she set it down. "Sorry, forgot you don't have much balance." he apologized. "Why don't we just lay down?" Hopepaw sighed as she laid down alongside Woodpelt as he checked out her paw.

_But it wasn't a thorn._ Hopepaw cried to him in her head. _It was Flowerpaw; she wants to kill me._

* * *

**Flowerpaw's mean. :(**

-7D


	15. Chapter 13: Tree

**"...FLOWERBUTT THE IDIOT!" - Amberstorm233**

* * *

Clawpaw finally scented a bird from high up in the trees. He pointed his muzzle upward, trying to find the exact spot. He couldn't, though.

"Did you find something?" Vinefoot asked quietly from the other side of the tree.

"Yes," Clawpaw responded. "but I can't get up there."

"Yes you can. I've taught you how.

"But I can't see! What if I run into something?!"

"I believe in you. Just do it." Vinefoot mewed. Clawpaw took a deep breath. He jumped up, grabbing the tree trunk and digging his claws into it. He stopped to scent the bird. His heart soared. Clawpaw scented the exact spot. It smelled like a few fox-lengths ahead of him. He slowly pricked one of his set of claws from the tree, being as quiet as possible, and reached out in front of him. He kept repeating and climbed up the tree until he hit something.

It was a branch. It stabbed him is the eye, causing his to yowl. He lost his balance, his claws escaping from the tree. He was sent hurling at the ground below, about to painfully crash...

* * *

**Okay, I know this is the shortest chapter, but I've been soooooo bust I couldn't update. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDX**


	16. Chapter 14: Survivor

**AAHHHH SO BUSY WITH SCHOOL SO SORRY!**

* * *

Clawpaw's belly hit something hard, shooting pain around his upper body. He tried to reach out beneath him for something to rest his back legs against, but all there was was air. He realized what happened. He hit a branch.

"Clawpaw! Are you alright?!" Vinefoot called from the ground below, worried.

Clawpaw felt like he couldn't talk. "Yeah..." He rasped. "Help me get down!"

"Use this as a chance to see how good your senses are."

"Are you crazy?" Clawpaw spat, raising his voice. "I'm blind! I don't want to fall!"

"You may be blind, but your senses of hearing and smelling are sharper than any cat in the Clan!" Vinefoot remarked.

_Is that true?_ Clawpaw asked himself. _Are my senses_ really _that sharp?_ He sniffed around the branch he hung from. Somehow, he sensed the truck of the tree just a few paw-steps in front of him. He lifted his back-legs and sunk them into the branch and reached toward his left. His paw hit the tree trunk. Carefully, he stalked across the thin branch and, when he found the trunk, wrapped himself around it. He slowly climbed downward. He jumped off the trunk and hit the ground right when he expected it. Woah.

"See?" Vinefoot mewed from behind him. "I told you you could do it."

"Thanks." Clawpaw gasped, out of breath.

"Wanna try again?"

"Definitely not." Clawpaw meowed, and padded in the direction of the scent of the camp.

* * *

**Okay, I promise next chapter will be more exciting and longer. I just haven't updated this in so long. Bye!**

-7D


	17. Chapter 15: Murderer

**:)**

* * *

Hopepaw let out a sigh of relief. She was finally finished from working in the Elders' Den. She happily crossed over into the Apprentices' Den, where she found Clawpaw grooming himself.

She felt her face heat up. "Hi, Clawpaw." She mewed shyly.

Clawpaw looked up in her direction, his eyes filled with embarrassment. "H-Hey, Hopepaw." He stammered after a moment.

She started to pad toward him, when suddenly a cry filled the camp. Hopepaw darted her eyes toward the outside. Running in to the open camp, her eyes were stunned as she found her mother crawling across the ground, wounds covering her from ear-tip to tail-tip. Her ear was badly cut as the corner. Visible claw marks could be seen from both sides of her, huge ones. Petalleaf's tail was almost half the size it was, dragging a pool of blood into the camp.

Hopepaw couldn't help it. She yowled as loud as her chest would let her. That really alerted the authorities. Cats from different sides of the camp came pouring out to help Petalleaf. Hopepaw watched with teary eyes as Petalleaf fell to the ground, unconscious.

She bounded over to her mother, pushing past many cats, including her leader, who Hopepaw could swear she saw a smirk on her face. "Don't die, Petalleaf!" Hopepaw wailed, cowering over her mother.

"She isn't going to die." Larkfeather rasped from behind her. Hopepaw turned to face him. "She just has critical cuts and scrapes. It looks like a bigger animal did this, but the wounds aren't severe enough to kill her."

Hopepaw heard Hollystar curse something under her breath. She stood still like a statue as cats began to lift the unconscious she-cat from the ground and drag her into the Medicine Den. Hopepaw shivered. _She's going to be okay... right?_

Out of the corner of her eye, Hopepaw noticed Hollystar stalking into the tall grass, as if in a hurry. _Where is she going?_ Hopepaw asks herself. Looking around to make sure no one wasn't watching her, she quickly bounded after her leader. Hopepaw wanted to get to the bottom of this.

The grass touched her lightly as she quietly followed her leader. Now and then, Hollystar would point her head up and make sure she wasn't being followed. When she did this, Hopepaw pressed herself against the soiled earth.

After passing an old oak tree, a clearing was found. It was a small clearing, trees covering its sides and sanded with dirt. Suddenly, a large animal emerged from the bushes toward the other side of the clearing.

It was the dog that kidnapped her.

"I'm disappointed in you. " Hollystar snapped. Hopepaw slightly poked her muzzle through the grass, just able enough to see.

"What you mean?" The dog asked.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Hollystar hissed, jolting upright. "I know you got Petalleaf like I commanded you to. You didn't hurt her enough. I told you to kill her."

"I did."

"_You didn't, Buddy_!" The black she-cat was now yelling. Hopepaw flinched. "She crawled into camp just now, barely alive. You didn't finish her off." Hollystar's angry expression was now psychotically smiley. "You know what that means." Hollystar started padding toward the dog, taking one paw step, then waiting a moment.

"No... Hollystar... please, no do this!" Buddy pleaded. Hollystar didn't listen. She lunged at the dog, chest first. She dug her claws into his chest. Letting herself slip, she slid underneath him and raked his underbelly. As he cried out in agony, she ran sideways and lunged at his side, pinning him to the ground. He struggled, but surprisingly wasn't able to throw off the black devil. Hollystar took her claws and ran them down Buddy's face, then, using her back-legs, stood upright and pushed him forward, his forehead hitting a stump. As he quickly recovered to a standing position, his face now red with anger and blood, she ran towards him. He wen to lung at her, but to his surprise, she jumped over him and raked her claws down his back. Buddy stumbled to the ground, defeated.

Hollystar landed flat on her paws, no scratches whatsoever. Buddy forced himself to look in her eyes, turning his head 180 degrees. "Leave. Before _I_ finish you off. And don't _ever_ come back." Hollystar growled.

Buddy let out whimpers as he struggled to his feet, limping back the way he came from.

Hopepaw couldn't believe what she just witnessed. Hollystar wasn't a leader. She was a murderer.

Suddenly, Hollystar looked in Hopepaw's direction. She must have made a sound. Hollystar began sniffing. Panicking, Hopepaw sprinted in the opposite direction, hoping Hollystar didn't see her, but that was unlikely. Hopepaw was horrified. She had to tell someone. Someone who would always believe her.

And she knew who that was.

* * *

**Follow and Favorite!**

-7D


	18. Chapter 16: Information

**Yay my cold went away!  
**

* * *

Clawpaw took a big bite out of the pigeon Vinefoot let him have. It was very plump and juicy, filling his mouth with flavor. As he was enjoying his food, a meow startled him. "Clawpaw!"

"Hopepaw?" Clawpaw turned his head in the direction of where he heard Hopepaw.

"I need to speak with you. In private." She meowed more calmly this time.

Clawpaw felt uneasy. He pushed his pigeon to the side and got up. He padded after the scent of Hopepaw as she led him to the Apprentices' Den.

Judging by the movement of the ground, Clawpaw sensed Hopepaw sit down. He decided to sit, too. He twitched his whiskers. "What did you want to tell me, Hope-"

"Clawpaw!" Hopepaw cried. Her voice was full of shock. He could tell she was crying.

"What happened?"

Hopepaw let out a few quiet sobs. "I-I saw Hollystar leave camp, so I followed her. She met up with this dog. She said," Hopepaw took a deep, shaky breath. "She said she wasn't happy with it because it didn't kill Petalleaf like she asked it to!"

Clawpaw's mind went blank. Why would Hollystar do such a thing? Then he recalled the day Hollystar said Hopepaw would never be a warrior. He found himself digging his claws into the dirt. "I never liked that flea-bag." Clawpaw growled.

"What do we do?" Hopepaw mumbled.

Clawpaw let himself slip onto the dirt, his jaw hitting down with a soft thump. "Like anyone will believe us." He grumbled.

He heard Hopepaw let out a sigh. He felt her slump down onto the dirt with him. They laid in silence for a few moments. He suddenly felt a paw on his. His body went numb. The joy.

* * *

**Sorry I had to cut short. School is just getting busy with math.**

-7D


	19. Chapter 17: Set Your Heart Up in Flames

**/)_(\ I HAS NOT FORGOTTEN I'M SO SORRY**

* * *

Hopepaw bounced around her father, her excited temper overwhelming her. "Really?!"

Vinefoot smiled. "Would I lie about you becoming a warrior soon?"

Over the past few days, Mudpaw and she'd been training hard. Ever since Flowerpaw, Clawpaw, and Flamepaw earned their warrior names, Flowerstream, Clawtail, and Flamepelt (A/N: I feel like Flamepelt is already a real Warrior cat name. Correct me if I'm wrong, and I will change it immediately), Hopepaw felt lonely, although she had Mudpaw with her. Flowerstream hasn't stopped mocking her about it.

"Hey, Hope- wait, what's your warrior name again?" Flowerstream asked her one evening.

Hopepaw looked at her, a growl rising in her throat. "Oh wait, I forgot, you're _never_ gonna be one!" Flowerstream teased, snickering and padding away, tail held high.

Clawtail always cheered her up. He was starting to become more... muscular. "Hey, it's alright." Clawtail mewed gently, resting his tail on her back. "Flowerstream has always been a piece of crow-food."

Hopepaw looked up at him in shock. "Hey, I admit it. I haven't exactly ever liked my sister." Clawtail added in a low manner, as if he saw her expression.

Hopepaw snapped out of her thoughts. "When?"

Vinefoot turned his head towards Hollystar's den. "I don't know. I asked her about it and she only said she started seeing how strong you were and would think into it."

Hopepaw's smile faded. "Doesn't that mean that she didn't exactly say I could become a warrior soon?"

Vinefoot didn't answer her. He just kept staring at Hollystar's den. Did that mean there's something he isn't telling her?

Hopepaw noticed Flamepelt out of her peripheral vision. He was slowly padding up to her. "Hey, Hopepaw," Flamepelt meowed. "you wanna come out of camp with me? Hollystar wants me to quickly make sure the borders are fresh."

"Just you?" Hopepaw said in disbelief.

"Yeah." Flamepelt kept his ground. "Want to help?"

Hopepaw smiled friendly. "Sure, why not?" Hopepaw followed the newly-made warrior towards the entrance. Hollystar would _never_ let a warrior out on their own. He was up to something. And she wanted to find out what.

As Hopepaw trailed behind Flamepelt, he led her to a clearing. "Hopepaw." He mewed.

Hopepaw shivered. "Um... why are we here?"

Flamepelt lowered to sit. He twitched his whiskers. "Listen, Hopepaw. Now that I'm a warrior, I... have more rights, I'll say. The right to have a mate."

Hopepaw froze. She had an idea where this was going.

"But you aren't a warrior yet. Hopepaw, ever since we were kits, I've liked you. As the days went, I started to realize..." He paused. "I really like you. You're beautiful, and just... wow. The way your pelt shines, and your eyes..." Flamepelt took a deep breath. "Hopepaw, once you become a warrior, will you be my mate?"

Hopepaw almost was positive her heart stopped. "I..."

"Hey," Flamepelt purred. "I'll give you time to think about it." Flamepelt pranced out of the clearing. Hopepaw stood where she was, not moving. Something warm inside her opened, her body feeling numb. Clawtail never complimented her like this. Was this the right choice, to love Flamepelt and be with him, or be stuck in the friends zone with Clawtail, and _maybe_ become mates?

Flamepelt popped his head out of the grass, startling her. "You coming?"

Hopepaw looked at him, then slowly began after him. Hollystar never sent him to check the borders. He just wanted to meet her in private. Hopepaw noticed the clearing in sight after a while. Flamepelt was right.

She had to think about this.

* * *

**Now, I bet all you ClawXHope people are going "NOOOO HOPEPAW NO! DON'T BE WITH HIM! CLAWTAIL LOVES YOU!", but trust me, even if she does decide to be his mate, something will be revealed :). Now, I need help. Anyone wanna name Hopepaw? Maybe Mudpaw? Now you can! I need warrior names for Hopepaw and Mudpaw, since they will be becoming warriors soon. I might not use anyone's idea for Hopepaw's, because I already have one in mind, but let's just see what happens. Hope to see replies!**

-7D


	20. Chapter 18: Not Her Fault

**Okay peoplez, I just have to say a few things. I'm trying to update as soon as I can, but it just doesn't work out. One of my family members passed away on the 1st. I'm okay, really, I've just had other things on my mind. When I (eventually) update this, I'm hoping (lol story pun) I can update every Saturday. Since this is so close to Saturday, though, it'll most likely be next Saturday. Enjoy this chapter. I know you will (or not lol).**

**And later in the story, you might be mad. I'm sorta copying what Bluestar did to... wait, that might spoil it. Thank LittleGrayOwl (Guest) for the idea. :)**

* * *

Hopepaw paced back and forth. She was so nervous. She had just taken her warriors assessment. Swiftpool said she did wonderful, but Hollystar said she would find out if she'd be a warrior at the ceremony. Apparently Mudpaw is becoming a warrior. Her thoughts were interrupted by Hollystar's evil tone. It wasn't clear, but Hopepaw could always hear it. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the highbranch for a Clan Meeting!"

Hopepaw took a deep breath. She slowly padded over to her Clan, hiding herself somewhere in the center. "Today, two paws will become warriors." Hopepaw's heart skipped a beat. She's _actually_ going to become a warrior?!

"Mudpaw and Hopepaw, please come forward."

Hopepaw filled her lungs with air. Something about this didn't feel right. Keeping her head low to the ground with embarrassment as cats watched her, she shouldered through the crowd. By the time she reached the shadow below the highbranch Mudpaw was already waiting anxiously for her.

"Mudpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, abide by it, live it, and protect it, even at the cost of your life?" Hollystar purred. Her eyes shined with pride in the about-to-be warrior.

Hopepaw could have sworn Mudpaw gave a little bounce. "Yes, I do, Hollystar."

Hollystar smiled. "Then from this day forward, you shall be known as Mudstripe. Starclan honors you bravery, strength, and whole-heartedness, and welcomes you as a full member of Redclan."

Hopepaw shivered as the Clan cheered Mudpaw's new name.

Now it was her turn.

Hollystar's happiness faded. "Hopepaw," she mewed plainly. "Swiftpool says you have passed your warrior assessment. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code, abide by it, live by it, and protect it at the cost of your life?" She heard Hollystar say the word "life" with just a little more power.

Hopepaw swallowed hard. She knew something was going to go wrong. It was destiny. "I do." Hopepaw managed to say. She forced herself to smile and look happy.

Hollystar didn't look happy. She saw the unhappiness in her eyes. The anger. The regret. Everything in her look told Hopepaw that she was saying in her mind, "You don't deserve to be a warrior. You deserve to die. Fall in a river and drown. You don't deserve the rank 'a full member of Redclan'. This clan needs warriors, not mistakes."

Hollystar continued. Her face was full of concealed rage. "Hopepaw." Hollystar meowed with a lot more power than she had before. "From now on you shall hence forth as Twofoot. Let your mistakes scar you for life. Let it remind you that Starclan may except you, but I don't. I don't welcome you as a full member of Redclan."

That's when everything fell.

As soon as the words stopped flowing from Hollystar's mouth, numerous yowls of rage struck the sky. Hollystar settled down, wrapping her tail over her paws. The crowd stood directly under the highbranch, yowling in outrage and clawing at her, hitting nothing but air. Some cats were able to jump up and hook their claws onto the underside of the highbranch, but ended up falling afterwards. They can't go on the highbranch, yet Vinefoot bounded up to Hollystar. "Hollystar," Vinefoot's voice was somehow heard over the various cries of anger. "let's be reasonable about this..."

Through all of the ruckus, all Hope- _Twofoot_ could do was stand perfectly still. She dug her claws into the ground. It was like someone cut open her heart. She felt all of the happiness, all of her feelings, all of her hope, her passion, her creativity, just flood out of her. All of those flooding happy feelings turned into dreadful ones. It was like her anger, sadness, regret, and sorrow pooled out into the infinite forest like an ocean, flooding everything, until the endless emotion wave was over her head. Almost as if she was drowning in it, it filled her lungs, her eyes, her stomach, _everything_. Twofoot took in a breath and realized she wasn't about to drown. She felt the hot tears wet her fur. They hit the ground, dispersing. All of her sound felt as if it was fuzzy, almost blocked out. Her vision became blurry, the ground she was staring at looking like fuzzy dirt.

Suddenly, the voices became recognizable. "How dare you do this to her?!" Poppypool spat at her leader, her eyes flaming.

"Yeah! After all the hard work she's done to prove herself!" Frostlight's voice followed after.

Whitepool lashed out. "Give her a _real_ name!"

Hollystar's head jerked to Whitepool's. The Clan fell silent in an instant. "She's a mistake." Hollystar growled loudly. "She shouldn't have been born."

"Hollystar, she was born perfectly healthy-"

"Until you failed to protect us from those badgers!" Hollystar spat, interrupting her. Whitepool drew her ears back, afraid. "It's you and your Clan's fault Twofoot is like this! This Clan needs warriors, not injured kits!"

Whitepool was shocked. "I wasn't even fighting that day. I-It was my first day of being an apprenti-"

"Shush!" Hollystar roared. "I don't wish to hear it." She mewed with her teeth clenched tight. Rounding Vinefoot, Hollystar stormed off into her den.

Twofoot was still crying. She hadn't been cheered up by anyone. She still stood in her exact same spot, letting the tears roll down her face.

"Twofoot."

Twofoot spun around, her eyes wild. Flowerstream.

"Nice name." She commented with a smile. "It's better than..." Flowerstream paused, looking up to emphasize her thinking. "Oh wait, _it's terrible_!" Flowerstream shouted, laughing in her psychotic way. She padded past Twofoot, pushing her side and causing her to stumble. Twofoot let herself crumble to the ground.

"Hopepaw." It was Clawtail. She recognized the voice.

"You know that's not my name anymore." Twofoot spoke at Clawtail while staring hard into the ground. Her voice sounded weak, used up, broken.

"I'm not going to call you something that monstrous nightmare gave you!" Clawtail remarked.

Twofoot looked up at Clawtail, smiling. She recalled the words Hollystar managed to yell from her mouth. Twofoot realized something she said. _"It's you and your Clan's fault Twofoot is like this! This Clan needs warriors, not injured kits!"_

What exactly does that mean? Twofoot shot upright. The Clan had already dispersed from the highbranch. Twofoot shot herself into the Nursery. She needed to find Petalleaf.

* * *

Right away, she found Petalleaf, sitting alone in the Nursery. Her eyes darted to Twofoot, her expression full of sadness. Just before she could say something, Vinefoot bounded into the den and gave Petalleaf a quick nuzzle. "Are you okay, Twofoot?" He mewed, lowly.

She ignored the fact her own parents called her by her warrior name. "Why did Hollystar mention something about badgers, and that I was an injured kit?"

Vinefoot and Petalleaf looked a little shocked. Vinefoot looked vigorously at the ground, while Petalleaf visibly tried to keep her expression blank.

Twofoot knew something was up. "Is there something you haven't told me?" She looked at her parents with narrowed eyes. "About myself? About how I was born?"

Petalleaf looked desperate to get out of this situation. "Nope... nope, everything's fine, just fi-"

"Tell me the truth." Twofoot urged. She spoke with power.

Vinefoot shared a glance with Petalleaf. It was the deputy who spoke. "Twofoot..." Vinefoot's eyes lay still at the ground. His tail moved slowly, almost not moving at all. It hung low. "You... weren't exactly... born... with two legs..."

By the time the knowledge had processed, something heavy fell on Twofoot's shoulders. "What are you talking about?" She snarled, not believing what they just said.

Petalleaf stood up. "Twofoot... when you were born, almost right after, badgers attacked our camp. They were strong and enormous. One of the attacked the Nursery. I did everything I could to protect you." She paused. Her eyes darted to the side of Twofoot. She looked to her side as well. Mudstripe stood still at her left. Petalleaf continued her story. "That badger grabbed you. I knocked him over and was able to get your scruff. He came back, grabbing you by your... your front right leg and back left leg."

Twofoot felt numbness where her two other limbs would have been. "He pulled, I tried to free you. He... pulled them out of their place and..." Petalleaf couldn't continue. A tear rolled down her face.

"She speaks the truth." The two cats spun around to see Larkfeather, his expression neither sad nor angry.

"How do you know?" Mudstripe asked.

Larkfeather sighed. "Follow me." Twofoot and Mudstripe exchanged nervous glances, but did what the Medicine Cat told them. He led them to the far side of camp where the dirtplace was.

"Here." He sniffed the ground. Against one of the walls, he dug straight down. He dug to where his whole neck could fit in the hole. He stopped and pulled something out of it. They looked like twigs, but with mold, moss, dried blood, and patches of fur on them. They looked as if they'd been there for moons. Although something told Twofoot those weren't twigs...

"Are those my legs?" Twofoot asked, heart-broken. Larkfeather's eyes clouded, he nodded solemnly. Twofoot felt like she was going to pass out. She crumbled to the ground all of a sudden, bursting into tears. Was life this cruel? Was life just so you could be hurt, wounded, yelled at, pushed around, called names, tortured, and mistreated? Isn't Starclan nicer than that?

Mudstripe laid down by his sister. "Hopepaw..."

Twofoot sniffed. "Like I told Clawtail, you know that's not my name anymore."

"I'm not insisting on calling you by your faults." Mudstripe remarked. Twofoot buried her face in her paw. She closed her eyes and thought about the good times she had. There weren't many. She looked up at her littermate. "I need to do something." She lifted herself up from underneath Mudstripe's tail (which was placed on her back) and charged toward camp, her anger level rising.

* * *

Once she reached camp, she immediately found Petalleaf and Vinefoot. "Why?!" She screamed at them.

Petalleaf jumped. "Twofoot, how dare you yell at your own mother!"

"Why didn't you tell me in the first place I was injured?!" Twofoot yelled.

"We did it for your own good." Vinefoot replied.

"All my life I've been treated like a piece of fresh-kill and didn't know why, and now I just find out?"

"Twofoot, please, you're making a scene." Petalleaf gestured to the cats that began to crowd.

"I don't care!" She screeched. "Were you too weak or something?! You couldn't protect two kits from one badger?!"

"Technically, yes, I was weak, since I had just given you _life_!" Petalleaf snarled. She stepped closer to her daughter, her face twisted into anger. They were almost muzzle against muzzle. Vinefoot stood behind Petalleaf.

"You would have had plenty of time to recover!" Twofoot snarled back. The two began bickering back-and-forth.

"How do you know? Kits don't remember things when they're first born!"

"You could have called for help; maybe then I wouldn't have lived a terrible life!"

"You're being over-dramatic about this, Twofoot! I tried my best, but the badger was twice my size!"

"The size of the badger doesn't matter! What matters is that you didn't tell me the truth! What exactly were you thinking?!"

"I was just trying to protect you!"

"MAYBE I DON'T WANT YOUR PROTECTION!" Twofoot was the the loudest she'd ever screeched in her life. Rising up on her back leg, she unsheathed her claw and slapped her mother across the face with it. Petalleaf stumbled backwards into Vinefoot.

Twofoot stared at her mother, furious. A trickle of blood drooled from Petalleaf's muzzle, and another on her right cheek. Twofoot took various deep breaths. Something clicked in her mind, making her realize what she'd just done.

Both her paws touched the ground once again. Her eyes widened, and she felt the tears. Her mother cried harder than she did. Her father expression was a mixture of shock, disappointment, and fear.

"I'm so sorry." She mumbled out loud. "What have I become?" She pinched her eyes shut and swerved toward the forest.

"Twofoot, wait!" Twofoot recognized Flamepelt's call. She kept running. Into the forest, past the dirtplace, and keep running straight. Keep running... running... running...

* * *

**Holy crap, this was long. Hopefully this chapter is awesome.**

**Thanks to everyone for the names! And thanks for suggesting the name Mudstripe! I really like that one!**

-7D


	21. Chapter 19: Starclan's Disapproval

**Like I promised!**

* * *

She kept running... and running...

And running...

And running...

Until her lungs couldn't take it anymore. By the time her legs gave out from under her, she had no clue where she'd ended up. It was a small clearing, with trees blocking it from the outside world. A small pond was in the center of it, with a small cave (made out of rock) on the opposite side of it.

"Perfect." Twofoot meowed with a huff. "No one here but me."

It was true; she was alone. Alone to bury her face in the dirt and cry. So much had happened, and she wanted to forget all of it. It seemed Starclan and everyone in her life was against her. Hollystar hated her, her parents probably did now, Flowerstream was always on her back, what more was there? The best option now was to die. Live a life in Starclan until time says otherwise.

She noticed a mouse watching her from another angle. As quick as a flash, her reflexes sharp, she pounced on the tiny mouse and killed in one blow. Hunger controlling her mind, she devoured the dead mouse at her paws in a matter of seconds. Her stomach felt refreshed. She licked her lips as the taste of mouse ever so slightly faded away.

"What are you doing here?"

Twofoot was so surprised she toppled over. Embarrassed, she quickly stood up, wobbling. What she stared at seemed so impossible to happen she thought her eyes were deceiving her. The sleek she-cat in front her looked disappointed, the big, round eyes full of sorrow and her tail hanging low.

Twofoot couldn't help but cry. "Cinderpelt!" she exclaimed. Twofoot darted towards the smoky animal, but she help out her paw, which made Twofoot skid to a halt.

"No," she mewed. Her voice was full of angry disappointment, yet her tone was soft and comforting. Cinderpelt looked towards the ground.

"Cinderpelt," Twofoot began. "What's wrong?"

"I saw that fight you had." Cinderpelt sighed. "You shouldn't have lashed out at her like that."

Now Twofoot was upset. "What was I supposed to do?" Twofoot wailed. Cinderpelt looked up in surprise. "Let my own mother tell me lies the rest of her life and get away with it?"

"Twofoot." Cinderpelt meowed.

"No, Cinderpelt!" Twofoot spat, sounding loutish. She felt her claws dig out of her paws. Her body became coarse with rage. Now a Starclan cat was doubting her. "My life has been horrible! I thought you were the nicest cat ever! Why can't you support me like the few cats that-"

"Twofoot!" Cinderpelt added with more force. Her starry body visibly went limp. She sat down, looking defeated. "I'm not supposed to be here." she admitted, closing her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Twofoot demanded.

Cinderpelt took a deep breath. "That night I first came to you, I wasn't supposed to be there, either." Her voice crackled. "I watched you grow up and I couldn't help but feel sorry. I asked my old Clan leader, Bluestar, if I could come down and help you, but she denied my request. I ignored her denial and went to visit you, anyway. I was stopped by Whitestorm, who was a Clanmate of mine. He forced me to go back, but I didn't listen. He fought me, and I fought back." Cinderpelt broke into tears. "For the first time in my life, I killed a cat, Twofoot. I killed Whitestorm just so that way I could help you. Starclan hasn't found out yet, but they've been ashamed of me for leaving without permission." Cinderpelt's body dropped to the ground.

Twofoot shivered. The air suddenly became cold. A few leaves dropped off of a couple of trees. She didn't know how to respond to Cinderpelt. "Starclan cat's can't die... can they?"

"They can." She sobbed. "Spottedleaf died. When Starclan cats die, they fade away forever. Spottedleaf and Whitestorm are never coming back. And the worst part is that Whitestorm is the son of Snowfur, who is Bluestar's littermate!"

Twofoot was astonished. Suddenly, the water rippled vigorously on the small pond in the clearing. A figure slowly emerged from the small body of water, not a drip on it. The figure of a cat appeared, snowy white and fluffy, with gray ear tips and azure-blue eyes. Its body sparkled of stars as a faint blue glow appeared around it, just like Cinderpelt. It was a Starclan cat.

Cinderpelt shot upright, her eyes full of worry and fear, her tail puffed and her back arched.

The other Starclan cat's voice was soft and glossy like that of a clear night sky. "Cinderpelt..."

Twofoot shot a glance at Cinderpelt. "Who is that?"

Cinderpelt didn't look at the two-legged newly made warrior. "Snowfur... what are you doing here?" Cinderpelt asked, not taking her eyes off the white she-cat, as if nothing was wrong.

Twofoot noticed tears start to form in Snowfur's eyes. Snowfur stared right back at Cinderpelt. "You killed Whitestorm?"

* * *

** 0 0  
/)(\**

-7D


	22. Chapter 20: What She's Been Waiting For

**This is my most addicting story to write.**

* * *

Twofoot watched, motionless and speechless, as the two starry cats started to argue.

"Snowfur, I-"

"Be quiet." Snowfur snapped. "I was watching you. I heard what you said."

Cinderpelt bit her lip. "Snowfur, I never meant to..."

"To what? Kill him?" Snowfur lashed out. "I could have spent an eternity with him in Starclan until we started to fade away, eventually! He's my only son! There's no place after Starclan!" Her tears started to soak the ground. "His spirit is gone, Cinderpelt! All because of you!"

"Snowfur, he attacked me first! I was just trying to defend myself!"

"And you fought him!" Snowfur screeched. She took a deep breath. "I told Bluestar. She said you're never allowed to come down, _ever again_. Maybe that'll teach you a lesson." Snowfur muttered the last sentence.

"What?" Cinderpelt gasped.

The two cats began to fade away, their glow leaving and the stars deforming. Snowfur stood trying to calm herself, while Cinderpelt started freaking out. She quickly ran over to Twofoot.

"Twofoot," she panted. "_All that is needed is Hope_, Twofoot. _All that is needed is Hope_."

"W-What?" Twofoot asked.

"Please, remember that!" Cinderpelt begged. She was almost completely transparent. "_All that is needed is Hope_!" Her last word trailed off as the two cats disappeared into nothingness.

Like before, she was alone.

Twofoot thought for a moment. _All that is needed is Hope_. "A prophecy." she breathed. She had to go back. "Who knows what Hollystar could be doing? She could be gathering an army of dogs... or killed everyone... or forced everyone to do everything she says..." Twofoot realized she wasn't talking to anyone. Her muscles still aching, she ran back to camp the opposite way she came, instantly regretting that she rested for a little while first. She kept going.

* * *

**Back at Camp, Around the Time Twofoot Was Almost at the Clearing (Hollystar's POV)**

This was perfect! Now that Twofoot was gone, nothing could stand in her way of becoming the most powerful leader the forest ever saw and having Vinefoot all to herself. She watched as Flametail dragged himself back into camp, breathing heavily. She ignored him. It was the perfect time. She could now accomplish what Buddy couldn't do.

Hollystar stormed out of her den. "_Petalleaf_!" the black she-cat screeched.

Cats exchanged questioning glances as Petalleaf brought herself forward. "Yes, Hollystar?"

Vinefoot kept a close eye on the Clan leader. "Oh, how I've waited for this moment." Hollystar cheered for herself. She arched her back, her tail puffed and her eyes wild.

"Hollystar...?" Vinefoot began to interrupt.

"Be quiet, Vinefoot." Hollystar growled. "If any of you interfere with what I'm about to do, you'll be banished from Redclan territory." she announced, not taking her eyes off of Petalleaf.

"Wait, wha-" Before Petalleaf could even finish the word, Hollystar charged at her, knocking her to the ground. Her right side hit the ground hard.

"Vinefoot is mine!" Hollystar screeched.

"Is that what this is about?!" Vinefoot added, yelling.

The leader ignored him. Petalleaf staggered upward. She faced the Clan leader. "How do you think your Clan will obey you after you betray one of your Clanmates?"

Holllystar chuckled evily. "I thought you might say something like that." Suddenly, Hollystar caterwauled for just a moment. Nothing happened at first, but then six huge dogs burst into camp, growling and snarling.

"They work for me." Hollystar added. She turned to the tall, muscular brown and black [A/N: they're Great Danes (lol Great Danes are _tall_)] dogs that towered above her. "Restrain them." she ordered. "Make sure they don't interrupt my battle." Her eyes drifted toward Vinefoot. She pointed her tail at him. "Especially _that_ one." The dogs quickly formed a barrier so that way no cat could get close to Hollystar and Petalleaf. They were all pushed to one side of the camp.

Hollystar's guard down, Petalleaf charged. She lunged over Hollystar and scraped her ears without her realizing it. She cried out as Petalleaf landed on all fours. "You're going to kill me over one cat?!"

"That's the plan!" Hollystar went at her, claws unsheathed and headed for her face. Petalleaf dodged to the side, running forward and shouldering Hollystar to the ground. She raked her claws down her belly before Hollystar was able to knock her off. Hollystar regained her balance and slid under Petalleaf. She pushed her upward from her belly, forcing blood down on her face. Petalleaf screamed as Hollystar head-butted her stomach and sent her somersaulting in the air and to the ground. Hollystar then took her chance and sunk her teeth into Petalleaf's neck, _hard_. The refreshing taste of Vinefoot's mate's blood filled her mouth. The defender thrashed around violently, trying to shake the heavy she-cat off, but it was no use. Suddenly, out of the corner of Hollystar's eye, she saw a brown she-cat standing right in the middle of the entrance to camp. She knew it was Twofoot. Relief flooded over her as she felt Petalleaf stop fighting. She could feel the she-cat just stop and limply stand there for a moment. Petalleaf's legs began to wobble. Hollystar smiled with Petalleaf's neck still in her mouth. _Yes...!_

* * *

**Oh no! What does that mean? Is Petalleaf dead? Find out next Saturday! Sorry for updating so late.**

-7D


	23. Chapter 21: The End of Her

**I'm trying out FictionPress! Woooooo.**

* * *

Twofoot burst through the entrance of camp with the loud sound of leaves shaking as they were pushed backwards by her force. Her eyes focused on her Clan leader on top of her mother, both of them bleeding. Petalleaf stumbled a few steps, stood still for a few moments, then dropped to the ground, her blood soaking into the Earth.

Crash. That was it. Twofoot felt her heart ripped out of her, thrown into a river, and then her body thrown into the river as well. The tears came fast, faster than Twofoot thought.

Her chest screamed at her with agony. It came pouring out fast. "**PETALLEAF!**"

Hollystar grinned, then stepped off of her mother. Twofoot ran, tripping and falling to her mother's feet. Her sorrows poured out of her like blood. Her feelings shattered like the fall of a tree and the sounds of crashing leaves.

"No..." Twofoot sobbed. "No no no no no... please..."

"Twofoot..." Petalleaf suddenly gargled.

"Please don't die!" Twofoot whined quietly like a kit.

Petalleaf made a weird breathing noise that sounded like a cough and a wheeze at the same time. Petalleaf was able to turn her head and look into her daughter's eyes. "Kill her." she moaned in a whisper.

"Petalleaf! Please don't die!" Twofoot found herself screaming.

Petalleaf smiled weakly. "I love you." Petalleaf's head drooped to the ground. Twofoot watched in horror as the rise and fall of her chest stopped. She was dead. She died and the last thing they did was fight. Neither of them even got to apologize. They fought and then the mother had to suffer. _It should have been me,_ Twofoot thought. _it should have been me._

After Twofoot sat there for a moment, the sky roared and water poured down on the camp. All of the cats on the other side of camp sat down solemnly. The dogs growled, looking up at the rain, which resulted in water getting in their eyes. The broken-hearted she-cat coughed out a sob. Her paw lightly slid over her dead mother, who was now soaked with diluted blood from the rain.

Twofoot stood up. Her face turned a little to indicate she was speaking to Hollystar. "Leave."

Hollystar chuckled. "Aww, is a special little kit upset that I killed her mommy?"

"**I SAID LEAVE!**" Twofoot spun around in the flick of a whisker and threw herself onto Hollystar. She used all her strength and repeatedly dragged her claws down Hollystar's face. Hollystar cried out in pain. Twofoot dug her claws into both of Hollystar's eyes, along her nose, in her ears, all over her face. Then, her anger building up like super strength, her claw dug straight into Hollystar's neck. She sunk in her teeth as well. Hollystar screeched so loud it hurt Twofoot's ears. Hollystar attempted to get up, but Twofoot took her back foot and pinned down her tail, so she threw off her balance. Hollystar cried out one more time before her eyes stared in a straight line and she stopped wrestling. Twofoot backed away slowly and looked at her Clan leader.

She was dead.

* * *

**Yaaaaaaaaay! Twofoot got revenge! And no not Petalleaf!**

-7D


	24. Chapter 22: His Nine Lives

**I'm sorry I didn't update last week. I was literally so busy I couldn't even get on the computer. Hopefully this will make up for it.**

**Also, I could not stop smiling after I read the comments for the last chapter. Also, I'll give you a spoiler. That's not the last time you see her.**

* * *

Twofoot stared down at her leader, the dead she-cat's blood soaking her paws. The rain seemed to pour harder on the camp, when it reality, it was getting lighter.

Twofoot's head violently spun around to face the dogs. Hunching down in shame, they whimpered and strolled off, now that their leader was dead, too. The Clan slowly walked towards Twofoot. Even if they were mad, Twofoot didn't care. Her head tilted up to the sky, and she let out a victorious caterwaul. Soon, the whole clan, even her father, joined in with her. Brokenstone stood, his eyes emotionless and plain.

The caterwaul died out. The rain slowed to a stop, but the sky was still dark. It was Larkfeather who spoke up. "Vinefoot," he meowed. "The Clan looks to you for leadership now."

The Clan exchanged agreeing murmurs. Vinefoot, who stood in the middle of the crowd, took a deep breath. He padded up to his only daughter, who was now leaning over Petalleaf. "Twofoot." Twofoot glanced up at him, her eyes shining with tears. They stood in silence for a moment. "Thank you."

"What?" Twofoot mewed, helpless. He was _thanking_ her?

"I need to thank you. You've killed our leader, who was evil. She shouldn't have ruled this Clan." Vinefoot sat and ran his tail over his mate. His tears came out like a snail. "Your mother would be so proud."

Twofoot smiled. "Thanks."

Vinefoot gave his daughter a small lick. He turned to the rest of the cats, who were waiting patiently near Hollystar's dead body. "Now that Hollystar is dead, I must take her place as leader. Larkfeather will travel to the Pool with me so I may receive my nine lives." He looked at Larkfeather, who reassured him with a light nod. "As first act of leader, I must assign a new deputy." The soon-to-be leader looked at Mudstripe. "Mudstripe, Hollystar said it herself you would become a fine warrior, and you have. Will you be my deputy?"

Mudstripe's eyes widened. He took a gasp. "Me?"

Vinefoot smiled. "Yes, Mudstripe. You've had an apprentice, and you've proven yourself that you're worthy enough. Will you be my new deputy?"

Twofoot was astonished. _Mudstripe hasn't had an apprentice!_ she realized.

She could tell Mudstripe was thinking the same thing. "I accept, father." he mewed anyway.

Vinefoot's face lightened up. "I will now travel to the Pool. I don't want anyone to touch Petalleaf until I get back. As for Hollystar," Vinefoot paused. "I don't care."

The Clan murmured its understanding. The cats began to disperse and mind their own matters. Some warriors gave Vinefoot a look as if to say, "My condolences."

Vinefoot turned to the main medicine cat. "Get the traveling herbs ready."

Twofoot watched as Larkfeather rushed to the den and she saw him gather the herbs as quick as a flash. He carried them out in his mouth. They were wrapped in a leaf Woodpelt kept for carrying traveling herbs. Twofoot didn't even get to say goodbye as she watched the two cats disappear out of the camp, looking like they were in a rush.

* * *

**Vinefoot's POV**

Once Larkfeather and Vinefoot arrived at the Pool, the air seemed thinner, even though they weren't high above ground. The Pool sat in the middle of a very small clearing, which was lined with trees taller than the average ones of the forest. It shimmered a glossy blue color caused by the blackness of the night and the glow of the moon.

"Go ahead." Larkfeather meowed, nodding to the Pool.

Vinefoot's heart skipped a beat, mostly caused by nervousness. Slowly, he dipped his nose fully into the pool. Cautiously, he took in a breath of water. In an instant, his world went black.

_Vinefoot awoke to the sounds of jingles. When his eyes opened, he stood in a starry field of grass and trees. The sky was perfectly lit blue and the trees were as beautiful as the wonders of the forest. In the distance, he began to see a group of cats begin to walk towards him. He thought he saw about nine of them._

_Once they came into full view, it was perfectly clear there were nine. He recognized Sunstrike's pelt, which looked like a bright fire._

_One cat stepped out of the group. Her pelt looked like a rock; it was lightened by the shimmer of the glow around her pelt. A growl escaped Vinefoot's throat. "Hollystar."_

_"Why, yes, my sweet." Hollystar cooed. A smile slithered up her face. "Starclan granted me access to give you your first life."  
_

_"Wait... what do you mean...?" Vinefoot trailed off._

_"Oh, Vinefoot." Hollystar's smiled weakened. "They put me in the Dark Forest."_

I'm not surprised. _Vinefoot thought to himself. Hollystar breathed in. "With this life, I give you power. Use it to lead your Clan with strength and no fear." Once the sentence finished, Vinefoot felt pain like he never experienced before. His veins pulsed with pain and he could have sworn a wind pushed his fur back. He hooked his claws into the ground and flattened his ears.  
_

_The pain all of a sudden stopped. He heard an unfamiliar voice say, "Alright, Hollystar, let's get on with it." Vinefoot heard Hollystar pad away, which gave him the courage to open his eyes. Unhooking his claws, he looked up at the next cat. His pelt was a starry orange color, almost red. His turquoise eyes shone with happiness. The leaf-shaped tear on his right ear and the scar across his left eye gave away his identity. "Foxstep!" Vinefoot cried._

_Foxstep chuckled. "Vinefoot." The two cats couldn't help but nuzzle each other. "I've been missing you."_

_"Same here." Vinefoot meowed, happy. "I haven't seen you since-"_

_"Since I died?" Foxstep added, jokingly and sarcastically._

_"I was gonna say since that battle, but that works, too." Vinefoot remarked with a wink._

_Foxleap smiled. "Alright, we haven't got all day. With this life, I give you friendship. Use it to reassure your Clan that there's an amicable side to every leader." Vinefoot felt like he jumped off a tree into a lake. It felt like the water hit him hard from all over. He felt like his pelt moving miraculously, as if it were in water. It drifted to a stop after a moment. Vinefoot started to feel droopy.  
_

_Vinefoot watched his kit-hood friend walk away to the crowd of cats. He noticed Hollystar was missing. Another cat walked up to Vinefoot. This tom was a silvery-white with light-gray patches. He had a light-gray spot around each eye as well. The green in his eyes had a hint of brown to them. The silver tom began to cry instantly. "Vinefoot."_

_Vinefoot couldn't help but cry, too. "Minnowpelt." The two toms ran to each other, nuzzling and wrapping their tails together. "I missed you so much."_

_"Me too, brother." Minnowpelt breathed, closing his eyes. Vinefoot ended up doing the same. Minnowpelt pulled away first. "I'm so proud of you, Vinefoot. I'm glad to be your littermate."_

_"Thanks, Minnowpelt." Vinefoot smiled with his tears._

_"With this life," Minnowpelt began, touching his paw to his brother's. "I give you courage. Use it against your enemies to protect your Clan along with the ones you love." This time, Vinefoot felt like he just ate energy. He felt himself perk up, his muscles feeling stronger. His senses became more aware._

_Once Minnowpelt backed away, a tortoiseshell she-cat stepped forward. Her pelt was a mixture of black-and-white patches with brown stripes over them. She had one green eye and one hazel eye. She stood tall with a straightened posture, her tail held high and her figure slim. Vinefoot swallowed. "Stripedstar."_

_She smiled. "Yes, Vinefoot. I was chosen to give you a life." Stripedstar was the leader when Hollystar was still deputy. Hollystar wanted to talk to Stripedstar alone in the forest. Vinefoot secretly followed them and saw Hollystar kill Stripedstar. Vinefoot lied and burst in saying he heard a strange noise from the camp and tracked it. Hollystar had said it was a fox._

_Vinefoot noticed the bite scar on the underside of her neck. "How are you, Stripedstar?"_

_"Okay... I guess." Stripedstar sighed. "I never should have let Hollystar be deputy. She was so nice back when she first became-"_

_"Hollystorm." Vinefoot finished the sentence for her._

_"Yes..." Stripedstar didn't finish that sentence. "With this life, I give you strength. Use it in battle to defend your Clanmates and all the others you care about." Vinefoot let out a groan of agony. He felt a sharp pain shoot up his body. The blood roared in his ears. He felt his head start to pound. The episode didn't last for very long.  
_

_Stripedstar stepped back. Next was a dark gray she-cat. She had blue eyes like Vinefoot had never seen before. She had a blue-ish glow to her figure. Vinefoot noticed her left back leg was scarred pink. He looked in her eyes. "Who are you?"_

_The she-cat gave a light chuckle. "It's okay if you don't know who I am. I am Cinderpelt. I taught your daughter how to walk."_

_Vinefoot blinked. "Seriously?"_

_"How else do you think she learned so fast?" Cinderpelt remarked. She changed the subject. "I was Thunderclan's medicine cat until there was a battle with badgers..." Her eyes turned sad towards Vinefoot._

_Vinefoot nodded his approval that she didn't have to continue. "What happened to...?" He looked at Cinderpelt's scarred leg._

_Cinderpelt sighed. "Thunderpath accident."_

_"Oh."_

_"With this life, I give you passion. Use it for all the wonderful things in life." Vinefoot's body felt like mush. He felt warm inside with just enough cool to keep him stable._

_Once the feeling went away, he watched and Cinderpelt came and got a very small kit. It had white stubbly fur with two black patches on his back. His front left leg looked a little crumpled up and shorter than the rest. His eyes were a dark brown, yet his right eye stayed closed. He only had half of his left ear (starting from the side closest to the left side of his head). His tail looked like a little nub. The kit had no whiskers at all. Cinderpelt helped the poor kit limp over to Vinefoot.  
_

_"What happened to him?!" Vinefoot asked, sorry for the kit._

_"You know how Sweetheart is expecting late kits...?"_

_"What does that have to do with this?" Vinefoot asked._

_Cinderpelt sighed. "This is one of her kits. He died in her stomach."_

_Vinefoot felt his level of sadness rise. Sweetheart lost one of her kits._

_"He started developing here." Cinderpelt began. "One of our queens in Starclan fed him. Not all of his body was developed right, which made him look like this. He's missing his right eye. He can't talk right, either. We call him Patchkit because of his two patches on his back." She looked at Patchkit. "You wanted to give Vinefoot a life, right?" she asked him politely._

_"Yeth." Patchkit mewed. His voice was hoarse and crackly. "With thith wife, I giff yeh fergiffneff. Fergiff aww deh cat who may amee mifftakeff." Once given this, Vinefoot felt his calmness control his body. He felt all warm inside, like the sun on his pelt._

_"Great job, Patchkit!" Cinderpelt whispered in Patchkit's good ear, and she led him to the others._

_The seventh cat was no stranger to Vinefoot with her bright orange pelt. She actually spoke to him without coughing every moment. "Hello, Vinefoot."_

_"And to you too, Sunstrike. Long time, no see." Vinefoot responded._

_"With this life, I give you good fortune. Let it give you good things in life, and let you use them for good purposes." This good life gave him bad pain. His paws hurt just to put pressure on them. Even his tail hurt to have consciousness in it. His eyes hurt to look. This one lasted for just a little over a moment, which was horrible.  
_

_A small cat walked up next. Her pelt was a dark-brown tabby color with white paws and a white tail-tip. Vinefoot would recognize those neon green eyes anywhere. The tom couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't seen her in so long. "Leafpaw!"_

_"Vinefoot!" Leafpaw cried. Vinefoot dropped to his back and let his dead daughter climb on top of him. He held her close to his chest. "I can't stand not having my family here with me." she whispered.  
_

_Vinefoot looked at her, his eyes smiling. "Don't worry. You won't be alone for too long."_

_Leafpaw squirmed to get up. Vinefoot held her down firmly. "Vinefoot, we don't have all day. I can't take forever!"_

_"I know." Vinefoot pouted. "I just miss you so much. I hope Brokenstone misses you just as much as I do."_

_Leafpaw smiled. "I know he does. I know my own brother." Vinefoot let her go. She scrambled to get up. "With this life, I give you fun. Use it whenever you just... just wanna have fun!" Leafpaw laughed. Vinefoot did, too. Once he did, his chest stung with fire. It soon felt like a warmed-up-water feeling.  
_

_As Leafpaw stepped back, Vinefoot stifled a choking sob. Petalleaf was last. "Vinefoot." she mewed, breathless._

_"Petalleaf." Vinefoot gave his mate a lick on the nose._

_"With this life, I give you love. Use it to love your Clanmates as long as you could." All Vinefoot felt was Petalleaf charge up to him and purr up a storm as she nuzzled him. "Tell our kits I miss them already, and that I love you all."_

_"I will." Vinefoot promised. Petalleaf backed away as the rest came forward. They met in the middle._

_It was Petalleaf who spoke for them all. "By the power invested in Starclan, we now pronounce you Vinestar, leader of Redclan. Use your lives to lead your Clan for as long as you will live."_

_The rest of them cheered his new name. "Vinestar! Vinestar!"_

_Suddenly, the starry plain grew fuzzy. The world shook and Vinestar staggered. Panicking, he ran towards his loved ones, attempting to say goodbye.._

Vinestar opened his eyes, his nose lifted from the Pool already. The Pool's shimmery glow was now faded to a small light. He looked to his right, where Larkfeather was waiting patiently. "Vinestar." he meowed, dipping his head.

Vinestar smiled. "Come on, let's go." Vinestar turned his back to the Pool and began to pad towards home, followed by Larkfeather, who picked up the herbs in his mouth. For a quick moment, he could have sworn he heard a small voice whisper in his ear, "_I'm not through yet_."

* * *

**Okay, this is officially the _longest_ chapter I've _ever_ written. QOTD: Now that Vinefoot got his nine lives (which took _forever_ to write), what will happen now? What changes might he make? Review what you think he'll do!**

-7D


	25. Chapter 23: Her True Name

**CONTEST!**

**CONTEST!**

**CONTEST!**

**Yes, we figured out it's a contest. I need help, you fans, you. I won't tell you what I need help with. I will tell you that I need kits. Okay, that didn't sound right, I'll say I need ideas for kits in my story. Yeah, that sounded better. I need kit names, looks, and personalities. I only need two kits, but more suggestions are welcome. BUT HERE'S THE CATCH. Of course, in every contest, there's always a catch. I will only be selecting the _115th_ reviewer. The 115th reviewer will get their creations in my story. If you review more than two I will only select two out of the ones you created.  
**

**But wait! Let's say the 115th reviewer is just a comment, not a submission. In that case, and _only_ that case, I will select the 114th reviewer.**

**Rules:**

**-To prove you have read the rules, type this _before_ you put in your entry: 9327Q*%3jn2474392yoloQFW149**

**-The pelt color needs to be along the lines of brown, orange, gray, white, or ginger. It can be a mix of any of those, a tabby pelt, spots, whatever.**

**-I don't care about the eye color. Wait, never mind; no green.**

**-NO STUPID NAMES. Okay, I know people like to get creative with names, but come on, please be smart. Like, cats don't know what the ocean is. I don't want to see an Oceankit. And no Clan names, either, so no Thunderkit, Windkit, Riverkit, Shadowkit, or Skykit. If the Clan cats don't know what it is, don't use it as a name.**

**-Please make the kit a real-life looking kit. Not something like, "Looks: White fur with purple stripes, dark blue paws, and yellow ears &amp; magenta eyes."**

**Good luck!**

**This chapter is the most requested thing for Vinestar to do first. If you don't know what it is, I just don't know about you...**

* * *

Twofoot strolled back into camp, the sun beginning to set and the leaves looking more brown and red than green. _Green-leaf is coming to an end, and leaf-fall is approaching._ Twofoot realized. _I don't remember when that happened last._ A mouse and a large vole dangled in her jaws. She trotted to the middle of camp and set her kill in the fresh-kill pile.

Her father's voice startled her. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highbranch for a Clan Meeting!"

Sighing, Twofoot bounded shakily to the center of the crowd that was growing beneath the branch that dangled over camp. Vinestar's tail settled over his paws. "I think most of you expect an announcement, but this is more of a renaming ceremony." Most of the cats exchanged questioning glances with one another. "Twofoot, my daughter, please step forward."

Gulping, Twofoot stepped forward, hot embarrassment washing over her. "Yes, Vinestar?"

Vinestar smiled. "Twofoot, Hollystar was a cruel, evil leader. She only saw what was on the outside: to her, a helpless cat who should have just left and died. But you, my precious daughter, are a lot more that that." Twofoot felt the happiness rush over her. A few warm tears fell on her face. "You've come all this way just to prove yourself, and you've done that so much. You've showed everyone you are a strong, brave, fearless young cat. Twofoot, by the power in StarClan and me, you shall now and forever be known as Hopeheart, a true name that symbolizes what's on the inside of you. We all welcome you as a full member of RedClan, even if Hollystar didn't."

"Hopeheart! Hopeheart! Hopeheart!" The Clan cheered louder than they ever have. Vinestar jumped down straight onto the ground. Crying, Hopeheart nuzzled up against her father, thanking him nonstop. Mudstripe came over, being showered with Hopeheart's happiness as well. After a moment, she searched the dispersing crowd for Clawtail. She found him slowly padding over. Her excitement uncontainable, she bounded over to him and almost collapsed on top of him. She nuzzled against his head, her eyes closing.

"I can't believe it," she cried softly. "I have a real name. I'm finally, _truly_, accepted."

Her nose met with his. "You've always been accepted." Clawtail told her. "By me."

Hopeheart smiled. Clawtail suddenly licked her cheek. "I love you." he whispered to her.

Hopeheart's closed eyes opened. Her heart expanded. The words flowed from her mouth like a whispering stream, her eyes slowing to a close. "I love you, too."

From behind the content couple, they had no idea that Flamepelt stared at them with rage and depression in his eyes. His claws sunk into the ground, an effect of the jealousy in him rising to an extreme level.

Hopeheart looked up at Clawtail, a purr rising in her throat. "Does this mean we're mates now?" she asked, her eyes were a little afraid of all the challenges she could face, yet her smile was clear she was expecting only one answer.

Clawtail began purring as well. "I guess we are."

* * *

**Aww! Such a sweet way to end a book. "Wait, the book is over?" you probably asked the screen. Yes, this book is over. But wait! The next book will be available to be read this upcoming Saturday as usual! Don't worry, you'll be able to tell what the second book is on my profile page. And the winner of the contest will be announced in the allegiances of the second book in this series. Until next book!**

-7D


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